/. 


^''  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^ 


Purchased   by  the    Hamill   Missionary  Fund. 


BV  2810  .YIO  1899 
Young,  Egerton  Ryerson   I84I 
-1909. 

The  apostle  of  the  North, 
Rev.  James  Evans 


The  Apostle  of  the  North 


OTHER  BOOKS 

BY 

EGERTON  R.  YOUNG. 

The  Apostle  of  the  North,  James  Evans.  With 
2  1  illustrations  by  J.  E.  Laughlin.  i2mo, 
cloth $1 .25 

Three  Boys  :n  the  Wild  North  Land,  illus- 
trated by  J.  E.  Laughlin.      i2mo,  cloth..    1.25 

By  Canoe  and  Dog  Train.  Among  the  Cree 
and  Salteaux  Indians.  Illustrated.  i2mo, 
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Stories  from  the  Indian  Wigwams  and  Northern 
Camp  Fires.     Illustrated.      i2mo,  cloth,   1.25 

On  the  Indian  Trail,  and  other  stories  of  mission- 
ary work  among  the  Cree  and  Salteaux  Indians. 
Illustrated  by  J.  E.  Lauglin.   i2mo,  cloth,   i.oo 

Oowifcapun;  or,  How  the  Gospel  Reached  the 
Nelson  River  Indians.  Illustrated.  i2mo, 
cloth I.oo 


The  Apostle  of  the  North 
Rev.  James  Evans 


BY 


Egerton  R.  Young 

Author  of  "  On  the  Indian   Trail"  "  By  Canoe  and 
Dog-Train"  Etc. 


"  Fired  with  a  zeal  peculiar,  they  defy 
The  rage  and  rigor  of  a  Northern  slty; 
And  plant  successfully  sweet  Sharon's  rose 
On  icy  fields,  amid  eternal  snows." 


New  York        Chicago        Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

Publishers  of  Evangelical  Literature 


Copyright,  1899 

BY 

Flbming  H.  Revell  Company 


Contents 


PAG» 


Young  Manhood 9 

II 

Co-workers  of  Evans 23 

III 

Teaching  the  Indians , 34 

IV 
Indian  Associates 52 

V 

Lake  Superior  Missions 71 

VI 

The  Work  and  the  Workman 85 

VII 
Peter  Jacobs 94 

VIII 
From  Ottawa  TO  Norway  House no 

IX 

A  Great  Trading  Post 124 

X 

The  First  Saskatchewan  Missionary 131 

XI 

Civilising  the  Red  Man 142 


Contents 

PAGE 

XII 
The  Apostle  of  the  North 157 

XIII 
Night  in  the  Wintry  Camp 172 

XIV 
Invention  of  the  Syllabic  Characters 181 

XV 
Mr.  Evans'  Journals 197 

XVI 
Winter  Journ'Ey  to  Saskatchewan .  209 

XVII 
Persecution  Aroused 225 

XVIII 
Tragedy  and  Revenge 242 

XIX 
Vindication  and  Death 254 


List  of  Illustrations 


James  Evans Frontispiece 

Storm  in  the  Baltic  Sea Facing  page     lo 

Pleading  for  the  Repentant  Indian "         "        45 

Four  Indians  and  the  Key  of  Whiskey  ...         "         "        48 

Mr.  Evans  Fishing  by  Torchlight "         "         7^ 

Deputation  of  Indians  Fleading  for  a  Missionary  "         "        88 

Mr.  Evans  a  Deck  Passenger "         "        92 

Indian  Woman  Carrying  Deer "         "        95 

Killing  a  Bear  with  Buckshot "         "       loi 

Mr.  Evans  and  Family  on  Canoe-Route     .    .         "         "       114 

A  Buffalo  Hunting  Scene "         "       135 

Mr.  Evans  Travelling  with  Dogs "         "       158 

Shoeing  the  Dogs      "         "       166 

Missionary  and  Indians  in  a  Blizzard     ...         "         "       17^ 

The  Wondrous  Aurora "         "       178 

Syllabic  Characters page  187 

Bark    Talking — Mr.     Evans    Teaching    the 

Syllabic  Characters Facing  page  190 

First  Hymn  Translated  into  Cree page  193 

The  Mock  Suns Facing  page  220 

Indian  Brigades  Crossing  a  Portage  .  .  .  "  "  229 
"  The  Island  of  Light  "—The  Tin-Canoe  .  .  "  "  243 
Mr.  Evans  and  the  Avengers  of  Blood  ...  "  "252 
The  Farewell  Parting  with  the  Indians  ...        •*         "255 


YOUNG  MANHOOD 

Special  men  for  special  work — James  Evans — Son  of  a  Sailor 

Voyage  to  the  Baltic — A  Grocer's  apprentice — Godly  master 

Rev.  Gideon  Ouseley — The  Irish  Missionary — His  wit — His 

influence  on  James  Evans — Evans  converted — Evans  in  Lon- 
don— His  family  comes  to  Canada — Evans  also  emigrates — 
Starts  in  the  new  country  as  a  School-teacher. 

When  God  wants  a  man  for  a  peculiar  work 
He  knows  where  to  find  him.  He  found  Moses 
among  the  flocks  of  Jethro,  and  Elisha  ploughing 
with  the  twelve  yoke  of  oxen.  Thus  has  it  ever 
been.  When  in  His  infinite  wisdom  He  sees  that 
the  time  has  come  to  act,  His  agents  are  quickly 
found.  He  who  called  Paul  and  Stephen  and 
Timothy  and  all  the  worthies  of  the  apostolic  age, 
has  ever  been  selecting  the  right  men  for  His  glo- 
rious work.  Augustine,  Wycliffe,  Tyndal,  Lati- 
mer, Huss,  Luther,  Knox,  Wesley,  Whitfield,  and 
scores  of  others  have  by  their  deeds  shown  most 
clearly  how  the  hand  of  Providence  has  been  at 
work  in  their  preparation,  call  and  success  in  the 
varied  positions  to  which  they  have  been  as- 
signed. 

This  same  providential  fitting  for  some  great 
work,  and  then  the  clear  call  to  it,  is  still  to  be 

9 


Voyages  to  the  Baltic 

seen.  The  records  of  missionary  toil  are  full  of 
it.  Carey,  Morrison,  Judson,  Duff,  Moffat,  and 
many  others,  whose  names  are  embalmed  in  the 
hearts  of  the  church  universal,  are  evidences  of 
this  truth.  And  just  as  surely  as  an  all-wise 
Providence  called  John  Eliot  and  David  Brainerd 
to  their  glorious  work  among  the  Indians  of  New 
England,  just  so  surely  did  God  call  James  Evans 
to  his  successful  work  among  the  red  men  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  territories. 

James  Evans  was  born  at  Kingston-on-Hull  in 
the  year  1801.  Living  near  the  ocean,  and  being 
the  son  of  a  sea  captain  he,  like  thousands  of 
other  English  lads,  soon  came  deeply  to  love  the 
sea,  and  longed,  like  many  a  son,  to  follow  his 
father's  occupation.  At  first  his  father,  who  by 
personal  experience  knew  the  dangers  and  draw- 
backs of  that  adventurous  life,  tried  to  discourage 
him  from  adopting  this  as  his  future  occupation. 
So  persistent,  however,  was  this  lad  of  eight 
years,  that  he  had  to  adopt  some  severe  measures 
to  repress  the  boyish  ambition.  He  therefore 
permitted  him  to  accompany  him  on  a  couple  of 
wild,  tempestuous  voyages  to  the  Baltic  Sea, 
keeping  him  on  the  plainest  fare,  and  giving  him 
plenty  of  work.  While  the  plucky  lad  cheer- 
fully did  the  rough  work  assigned  him,  and  un- 
complainingly ate  the  coarse  fare  of  the  common 
seaman,  yet  he  lost  his  ambition  to  become  a 
sailor  and,  after  some  years  at  school,  was  ap- 
prenticed to  a  grocer  in  the  near-by  town  of  Hull. 

James  Evans'  master,  Mr.  Traine,  was  a  godly 
10 


Storm  in  the  Baltic  Sea. 


Young  Manhood 

man,  held  in  high  repute  by  his  fellow-citizens. 
He  was  beloved  for  his  open-handed  benevolence 
and  his  practical  interest  in  everything  that  was 
for  the  uplifting  of  humanity.  Not  only  did  he 
fear  and  love  God  himself,  but  he  was  ever  anx- 
ious for  the  salvation  of  others,  especially  of  those 
over  whom  he  had  any  influence  and  to  whom 
he  could  speak  a  word  in  season.  His  sympa- 
thies did  not  alone  go  out  to  the  neglected  ones 
thousands  of  miles  away,  but  they  also  included 
those  nearer  home.  His  clerks,  apprentices  and 
all  in  his  employ,  saw  and  felt  the  influence  of 
his  consistent  life,  and  were  deeply  attached  to 
him  by  his  kindly  interest  in  their  temporal  and 
spiritual  welfare.  He  felt  that,  as  an  employer, 
it  was  his  duty  to  exert  a  kindly  influence  for  the 
development  and  strengthening  of  the  moral  char- 
acter, and  the  spiritual  growth  of  all  committed  to 
his  care.  He  therefore  aimed  at  this,  giving  them 
many  a  word  of  warning  and  advice;  and,  when 
opportunity  offered,  uniting  his  prayers  with 
theirs  for  the  blessings  of  which  he  believed  them 
to  be  in  need. 

James  Evans  was  specially  fortunate,  as  he  was 
one  of  the  few  who  dwelt  in  the  home  of  his 
master;  and,  in  after  years,  he  spoke  gratefully 
of  the  restraining  influences  and  blessings  that 
had  come  to  him  through  being  always  expected 
to  be  present  at  family  prayers,  where  the  head 
of  the  household  not  only  earnestly  prayed  for 
the  members  of  his  own  family,  but  for  all  in  his 
employ. 

11 


Apprenticed 

Another  thing  which  this  godly  master  felt  to 
be  a  duty  incumbent  upon  him,  was  to  see  that 
all  those  young  persons  under  his  authority, 
should,  on  the  Lord's  day,  attend  some  place  of 
religious  worship.  He  did  not  interfere  with  the 
religious  preferences  of  his  servants,  but  he  in- 
sisted that  they  should  be  found,  at  least  once 
every  Sabbath,  at  the  different  churches  indicated 
by  themselves  or  their  parents.  In  this,  also,  his 
conduct  is  to  be  commended.  Too  many  young 
persons  leaving  home  for  a  strange  town  or  city, 
neglect  to  identify  themselves  with  the  church  of 
their  fathers,  or  with  any  church,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  no  one  takes  any  interest  in  them,  or 
accompanies  them  to  the  house  of  God. 

In  this  way  thousands  of  those  who,  if  wisely 
and  kindly  directed,  might  have  been  saved  to 
the  churches,  have  been  allowed  to  drift  away 
until  the  religious  influences  of  their  early  life  are 
deadened  and  dissipated  by  the  new  surroundings. 

At  the  request  of  Mrs.  Evans'  relatives,  James 
accompanied  his  master  and  family  to  the  church 
in  which  they  worshipped.  The  young  lad,  still 
in  his  teens,  was  not  sent  up  into  the  gallery,  or 
allowed  to  find  a  seat  where,  perhaps,  boyish 
companionships  would  be  likely  to  hinder  the  re- 
ception of  the  greatest  amount  of  good  from  the 
service.  He  tells  us  that  he  was  always  welcome 
in  his  master's  capacious  pew,  and  of  this  kind- 
ness he  in  after  years  ever  spoke  with  gratitude. 

If  any  great  or  prominent  minister  or  mission- 
ary came  to  speak  or  lecture,  the  master  made 
13 


Young  Manhood 

arrangements  for  as  many  of  those  in  his  employ 
as  could,  consistently  with  his  business  interests, 
to  attend.  This  was  much  appreciated  by  the 
young  people  and  especially  by  Evans,  who,  al- 
though full  of  fun  and  energy,  and  a  leader  in  all 
the  sports  among  boys  of  his  age,  was  also  greatly 
interested  in  missionary  addresses  and  in  such 
sermons  as  he  could  understand. 

One  Sabbath,  while  worshipping  in  the  house 
of  God,  there  entered  into  the  pulpit  a  man  who, 
by  his  strong  personality,  at  once  attracted  his  at- 
tention, as  well  as  that  of  many  others.  He  was 
Gideon  Ouseley,  the  famous  Irish  missionary,  on 
one  of  his  preaching  tours  in  England,  He  was 
one  of  those  marvellous  men  whom  God  had 
raised  up  for  a  special  work;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  a  gentleman  of  family  and  culture.  He  gave 
up  splendid  worldly  prospects  to  go  up  and 
down  through  his  beloved  Ireland,  and  preach  to 
his  ignorant,  superstitious  and  bigoted  country- 
men the  pure  and  simple  gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

Mr.  Ouseley  was  frequently  mobbed  and  per- 
secuted by  his  benighted  countrymen,  who  were 
often  instigated  to  their  deeds  of  violence  by  the 
parish  priests.  He  was  a  man  of  dauntless  cour- 
age and  tact,  and  to  this  was  added  all  that  wit 
and  cleverness  at  repartee,  for  which  the  Irish 
have  so  long  been  famous.  One  incident  will  be 
sufficient  here  to  show  the  shrewdness  by  which 
he  changed  the  temper  of  an  ignorant,  supersti- 
tious crowd,  and  gave  them  some  sober  truths  of 

13 


The  Irish  Missionary 

the  gospel,  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  were  a  bless- 
ing to  some  of  them. 

On  this  occasion  he  was  preaching  at  one  of 
the  Irish  fairs,  which  were  places  of  reckless 
jollity  and  mirth,  as  well  as  of  a  little  business, 
and  a  good  deal  of  factional  strife,  in  which  the 
famous  shillalah  played  a  conspicuous  part.  Mr. 
Ouseley  having  taken  for  his  pulpit  the  steps  of 
a  public  building,  began  singing  some  sweet 
hymns  in  the  Irish  language.  This  speedily  at- 
tracted a  crowd,  and  when  the  ignorant  Roman- 
ists discovered  that  it  was  he  who  was  called 
"ould  Gideon  Ouseley,  the  swaddlin'  pracher," 
their  ire  was  aroused,  and  some  began  to  throw 
stones  at  him. 

"  Boys,  dear,"  said  he,  "  what's  the  matter  with 
you  ?    Won't  you  let  me  talk  to  you  ?" 

"We  don't  want  to  hear  a  word  out  of  your 
old  head,"  replied  a  voice. 

"  1  want  to  tell  you  what  1  am  sure  you  would 
like  to  know,"  said  the  preacher,  "it's  about  the 
blessed  Virgin." 

"  Hould  your  tongue;  what  does  the  likes  o' 
you,  know  about  the  blessed  Virgin?"  cried  an- 
other. 

"There  was  once  a  young  couple  to  be  mar- 
ried," began  Ouseley,  "  and  the  decent  people  in- 
vited the  blessed  Virgin  and  her  Son  to  the  wed- 
ding. The  wine  ran  short,  and  the  virgin 
mother,  not  liking  the  decent  young  people  to  be 
shamed,  whispered  to  her  blessed  Son,  '  They 
have  no  wine.'  '  Let  not  that  trouble  you,  ma'am,' 
14 


Young  Manhood 

said  He.  And  then  she  said  to  the  servants 
'whatsoever  He  saith  unto  you,  do  it.'  And  so 
our  blessed  Saviour  told  them  to  fill  six  water- 
pots  with  water,  and  then  to  take  some  of  it  to 
the  master  at  the  head  of  the  table.  When  he 
tasted  it  he  found  the  water  was  all  turned  into 
the  best  of  wine;  so  there  was  plenty  for  the 
feast,  and  enough  left  to  help  the  young  couple 
to  set  up  housekeeping.  All  that,"  continued 
Ousel ey,  "came  of  following  the  blessed  Vir- 
gin's advice,  'Whatsoever  He  saith  unto  you,  do 
it.'" 

The  stone  throwing  ceased,  the  hushed  crowd 
listened  with  rapt  attention  to  the  narrative  of 
Christ's  "first  miracle  which  He  wrought  in 
Cana  of  Galilee,"  which  probably  some  of  them 
heard  then  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives.  The 
preacher,  however,  kept  hammering  home  the 
Virgin's  words,  "  Whatsoever  He  saith  unto  you, 
do  it." 

"Follow  the  holy  mother's  advice,"  said  he, 
"and  do  not  be  wheedled  into  public  houses  by 
any  drunken  schoolmaster,  who  will  only  put 
wickedness  into  your  head." 

"It's  thrue  for  ye — it's  thrue  for  ye  intirely!  " 
exclaimed  an  old  man.  "If  ye're  telling  lies  all 
your  life,  it's  the  thruth  ye're  spakin'  now." 

This  was  the  man  bearing  on  his  body  the 
marks  of  numerous  scars,  received  in  many  a 
terrible  persecution  from  his  own  countrymen 
while  he  preached  to  them  the  blessed  truth  that 
Jesus  Christ  alone  could  forgive  sin,  who  came 

15 


Evans  Converted 

with  his  message  of  salvation  to  the  town  where 
young  Evans  lived.  To  him  Evans  listened,  not 
only  as  he  pleaded  in  wealthy  Protestant  England, 
for  help  in  evangelistic  work  among  the  poor 
Irish  Roman  Catholics,  but  also  when,  as  the  de- 
voted man  of  God,  he  urged  his  unconverted 
hearers  then  and  there  to  give  themselves  to  the 
Lord.  Under  his  loving  and  powerful  addresses, 
the  eyes  of  the  young  man  were  opened  to  see 
his  need  of  pardon  and  forgiveness,  through  the 
infinite  mercy  of  God,  as  revealed  in  Jesus  Christ. 
After  a  period  of  deep  heart  sorrow  on  account 
of  sin,  he  was  enabled  to  look  away  from  him- 
self to  the  Crucified,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  wit- 
nessing with  his  spirit,  enabled  him  to  cry, 
"Abba,  Father;  my  Lord  and  my  God!" 

Very  clear  to  him  was  his  conversion.  He  did 
not  afterward  have  to  wail  out,  amid  spiritual 
uncertainties,  "Am  I  His,  or  am  I  not?"  His 
experience  was  like  that  of  the  great  apostle,  to 
the  Gentiles:  "1  know  whom  I  have  believed, 
and  am  persuaded  that  He  is  able  to  keep  that 
which  I  have  committed  unto  Him  against  that 
day." 

It  is  a  grand  thing  to  have  a  religious  date  in 
one's  history.  To  all  this  is  not  given.  Multi- 
tudes of  God's  dearest,  grandest  children  know 
not  the  time  or  place  when  "  He  took  their  feet 
out  of  the  horrible  pit,  and  the  miry  clay,  and  set 
them  upon  a  rock,  and  put  a  new  song  into  their 
mouths."  Happy  are  they  in  the  blessed  assur- 
ance of  the   Divine  favour,  and  Fraternal  love. 

16 


Young  Manhood 

Still,  in  times  of  fierce  temptation,  when  the 
arch-tempter  assails,  and  by  naked  faith  we  have 
to  hang  on  to  naked  promises,  it  is  well  to  have  a 
date  to  throw  into  his  face,  as  he  brings  forth  his 
lying  insinuations.  And  better  still  is  it  for  us  all 
to  feel  that  we  are  in  present  possession  of  heir- 
ship in  the  heavenly  family.  "  Beloved,  now  are 
we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear 
what  we  shall  be,  but  we  know  that  when  He 
shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall 
see  Him  as  He  is." 

Into  this  blessed  assurance  James  Evans  entered 
while  the  dews  of  youth  were  still  upon  him. 
Highly  honoured  are  they,  who  thus  begin  in 
early  life,  the  service  of  God,  which  after  all  is 
the  easiest,  sweetest,  happiest  service  on  this  side 
of  heaven.  Would  that  all  of  our  young  men 
and  boys  could  be  brought  to  realise  how  much 
more  blessed  it  is  to  do  the  right  and  serve  the 
Lord,  rather  than  to  be  servants  of  satan  and  of 
sin. 

Such  was  the  active,  energetic  temperament  of 
James  Evans,  that  he  was  anxious  to  tell  others 
the  story  of  redeeming  love  that  had  now  per- 
sonally come  to  him  as  a  great  joy.  Having  re- 
ceived the  Spirit  of  adoption,  which  enabled  him 
to  cry,  "Abba,  Father,"  he  wanted  to  have  his 
young  associates  and  others  enter  into  this  same 
rest  of  soul.  A  bold  and  fearless  lad  in  sports 
and  daily  duties,  he  at  once  showed  the  courage 
of  his  convictions  in  his  religious  life.  While 
modest  and  retiring  in  his  demeanour  especially 

17 


"  Servlflg  the  Lord  " 

toward  his  elders,  yet  he  let  it  be  known,  in  a 
way  that  could  not  be  misunderstood,  that  he 
would  go  to  no  sports,  or  places  of  amusement 
to  which  he  could  not  invite  his  elder  Brother, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  accompany  him.  Here 
is  a  good  solution  of  this  so-called  difficult  ques- 
tion of  proper  places  and  amusements  for  Chris- 
tian young  people. 

The  church  was  not  slow  to  notice  the  gifts 
and  graces  of  James  Evans,  and  so  he  quickly 
found  an  opportunity  to  exercise  them.  The 
Sunday-school  was  his  first  field,  and  a  grand 
training-school  it  has  been  for  many  a  glorious 
hero  of  after  years.  He  studied  his  Bible  dili- 
gently and  availed  himself  of  all  assistance  pos- 
sible. Here  he  developed  abilities  of  so  high  an 
order,  that  he  was  engaged  with  others  to  hold 
services  in  the  adjoining  villages  and  hamlets. 
He  quickly  became  popular  among  his  rustic 
audiences.  His  youth  and  modest  demeanour, 
joined  to  his  fluency  of  utterance,  in  the  simple 
yet  eminently  scriptural  addresses  which  he  gave, 
completely  won  their  hearts.  Thus  for  a  while 
he  continued,  "diligent  in  business,  fervent  in 
spirit,  serving  the  Lord." 

After  some  years  in  this  Yorkshire  town,  he, 
like  thousands  of  other  young  men  anxious  to 
succeed  in  life,  went  up  to  the  great  modern 
Babylon,  London;  where  a  fairly  good  position 
was  offered  him.  Here  his  industry  and  in- 
tegrity of  character,  joined  to  his  bright  and 
sprightly  disposition,  made  him  a  favourite  with 

18 


Young   Manhood 

all.  So  pleased  was  he  with  this  situation  that 
he  decided  that  he  would  not  unite  with  his 
father's  family  in  their  removal  to  Canada,  but  to 
remain  behind  in  the  great  city.  A  couple  of 
years  later,  however,  he  crossed  the  ocean  and 
joined  them  at  La  Chute,  Quebec,  where  they  had 
made  for  themselves  a  home. 

With  characteristic  energy,  he  threw  himself 
into  work  immediately  on  his  arrival.  At  first  he 
hoped  to  secure  employment  in  some  business 
establishment  similar  to  those  in  which  he  had 
served  his  apprenticeship,  and  had  spent  some 
years  in  the  old  land.  No  opening  in  this  line  of 
business  being  immediately  available,  Mr.  Evans 
secured  a  position  as  a  school-teacher.  In  this 
new  country,  the  hardy  and  industrious  immi- 
grants, amidst  their  toils  and  labours  to  change 
the  primeval  forests  into  splendid  farms,  were 
not  unmindful  of  the  educatioHal  needs  of  their 
growing  children.  The  cedar-log  schoolhouse 
was  rude  in  its  appearance,  and  primitive  in  its 
furnishings.  In  many  instances  the  best  teachers 
available  had  never  sees  the  inside  of  normal 
schools  or  college  halls.  Some  of  them  were 
notoriously  unfitted  for  their  work,  being  not 
only  grossly  ignorant,  but  brutal,  and  often 
drunken.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were  some 
so  naturally  gifted  and  so  ambitious  in  their  work, 
that  success,  but  little  short  of  the  marvellous, 
crowned  their  efforts. 

Some  of  the  brightest  men  in  every  profession 
and  avenue  of  honourable    life  the  country  has 

19 


Becomes  a  School-master 

produced,  look  back  with  pleasure  to  the  inspir- 
ing helpful  times  spent  in  the  old  log  schoolhouse, 
as  the  best  days  in  their  lives;  as  then,  under  the 
inspiration  and  guidance  of  some  high-souled  and 
conscientious  teacher,  they  laid  the  deep  and 
broad  foundations  of  that  splendid  education, 
which  has  enabled  them  to  triumph  over  every 
obstacle  that  lay  between  them  and  success. 

For  some  years  James  Evans  successfully  con- 
tinued this  employment  in  what  was  then  known 
as  the  Province  of  Lower  Canada.  The  religious 
zeal  and  fervour  of  the  first  years  that  succeeded 
his  conversion,  seemed  to  have  measurably  de- 
clined. His  stay  in  London  was  not  helpful  to 
his  religious  life.  Sad  indeed  is  it  that  so  many 
young  men  amidst  the  glamour  and  excitement 
of  our  great  cities,  and  the  opportunities  for  dis- 
sipation there  presented,  with,  in  many  cases, 
but  little  interest  taken  in  their  religious  welfare 
by  their  employers  or  the  churches,  drift  away 
from  their  religious  moorings  and  float  out  on 
seas  of  careless  indifference,  if  not  into  actual 
skepticism  and  unbelief. 

James  Evans  never  became  immoral  or  skep- 
tical. He  never  lost  his  love  for  his  church,  or  his 
belief  in  her  teachings.  But  his  love  had  grown 
cold,  and  he  no  longer  considered  himself  worthy 
of  a  place  in  her  ranks.  This  state  of  religious 
declension  lasted  for  some  years;  then,  under  the 
faithful  ministrations  of  the  Rev.  Franklin  Met- 
calf,  and  Rev.  David  Wright,  he  was  led  by  the 
illuminating  power  of  the   Holy   Spirit,  to  see 

20 


Young  Manhood 

from  whence  he  had  fallen,  and  to  "repent  and 
do  his  first  works."  Very  sincere  and  genuine 
was  his  repentance  for  his  spiritual  backslidings. 
In  him  was  the  "godly  sorrow  which  worketh 
repentance  to  salvation,  not  to  be  repented  of." 
In  scriptural  language  "  he  sorrowed  after  a  godly 
sort."  It  wrought  carefulness  in  him  to  be  more 
watchful  in  the  future.  What  cleansing  of  him- 
self of  the  sins  and  weights  that  had  hindered 
him  in  the  Christian  race;  yea,  what  indignation 
that  he  should  have  become  so  cold  and  indif- 
ferent to  the  service  of  such  a  Master!  What 
vehement  desire,  yea  what  zeal  to  work  for  such 
a  forgiving  friend,  who  had  pardoned  all  his 
backslidings. 

James  Evans  received  this  new  and  marvellous 
quickening  and  re-baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  at 
an  old-fashioned  camp-meeting;  and  never  again 
did  he  waver  in  his  spiritual  life.  The  experience 
of  the  past  was  ever  before  him  as  a  warning  to 
be  constantly  on  his  guard.  The  restraints  Paul 
put  upon  himself  in  his  description  of  the  great 
spiritual  conflict,  in  which  all  who  would  over- 
come are  engaged,  and  the  words  he  used,  were 
those  of  Mr.  Evans.  "But  I  keep  my  body  un- 
der, and  bring  it  unto  subjection,  least  that  by 
any  means,  when  I  have  preached  to  others,  I 
myself  should  be  a  castaway." 

With  this  constant  reliance  on  God  as  the 
source  of  his  strength  and  with  a  sublime  faith  in 
the  gospel  to  meet  the  needs  of  a  redeemed  hu- 
manity, he  began  a  career  of  such  glorious  suc- 
21 


Triumph  in  Christ 

cess,  that  very  appropriately  could  he  say,  with 
the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles:  "  Now  thanks 
be  unto  God  which  always  causeth  us  to  tri- 
umph in  Christ,  and  maketh  manifest  the  savour 
of  His  knowledge  by  us  in  every  place." 


22 


II 

CO-WORKERS  OF  EVANS 

Rev.  William  Case,  who  called  James  Evans  to  the  Indian 
work — His  love  for,  and  interest  in  the  Indians — Henry  Stein- 
hauer,  the  Indian  scholar — His  testimony  about  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Indians. 

In  the  study  of  a  great  missionary  character  like 
that  of  James  Evans,  it  is  valuable  to  know  some- 
thing of  those  who  had  the  honour  of  starting  him 
on  his  successful  life-work,  and  were  co-workers 
with  him  along  those  lines  of  action,  where 
triumphs  so  signal  marked  his  career. 

While  perhaps  to  Rev.  Franklin  Metcalf  and 
Rev.  David  Wright  are  due  more  than  to  any 
others  the  joy  of  seeing  Mr.  Evans  brought  back 
to  his  first  love,  and  started  again  on  his  Chris- 
tian career,  in  which  he  never  faltered  while  life 
lasted;  yet  to  Rev.  William  Case  must  be  given 
the  honour  of  starting  him  on  that  missionary 
career,  first  as  a  school-teacher  among  the  Indians 
at  Rice  Lake,  and  then  in  the  regular  ministry,  as 
a  great  flaming  evangel  among  the  tribes  in 
Upper  Canada,  and  then  as  the  Apostle  of  the 
North,  in  the  far-away  regions  from  Lake  Su- 
perior, on  to  the  Ultima  Thule  of  the  almost  un- 
known North,  where  auroras  flash,  and  the  Frost 
King  reigns  for  at  least  two  thirds  of  the  year. 

William  Case  was  born  at  Swansea  in  Massa- 

23 


Rev.  William  Case 

chusetts,  in  1780.  Early  in  life  he  dedicated  him- 
self to  God  and  to  humanity.  In  1805  he  entered 
the  ministry  and  selected  Canada  as  his  field  of 
toil.  Of  his  choice  of  this  field  in  those  early 
days  of  the  country's  history,  it  has  well  been 
said,  "  His  selection  of  Canada  at  that  time  was 
expressive  of  a  heroic  intention  and  a  burning 
zeal,"  for  then  the  recesses  of  the  wilderness  had 
been  little  explored,  and  privations  and  perils 
awaited  his  footsteps.  Then  the  scattered  set- 
tlers were  for  the  most  part  without  stated 
gospel  ordinances,  and  the  Aboriginal  tribes 
were  pagan  and  degraded.  But  in  spite  of  all 
the  difficulties  and  dangers  that  menaced  him, 
with  inflexibility  of  purpose,  and  a  dauntless 
courage,  he  entered  on  his  life-work,  and  never 
faltered  until  his  career  ended.  He  won  the  es- 
teem of  all,  and  was  emphatically  a  soul-winner. 
In  1828  he  was  made  superintendent  of  Indian 
missions  and  schools,  and  held  this  post  for  many 
years.  In  it  he  gloried  and  rejoiced.  For  the 
salvation  of  the  Indians,  he  labouriously  toiled 
and  constantly  prayed,  and  when  he  saw  them 
coming  to  the  cross  and  there  rejoicing  in  the 
consciousness  of  the  divine  power,  he  exulted  as 
one  who  had  taken  great  spoil.  The  happy 
conversion  of  a  once  poor  degraded  Indian  gave 
him  the  greatest  joy  that  could  possibly  fill  his 
heart. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  superintendency 
of  the  Indian  missions  he  became  an  Indian  mis- 
sionary.    This  he  considered  the  highest  honour 

24 


Co-workers  of  Evans 

of  his  life.  In  seeing  the  poor  natives  first  Chris- 
tianised, and  then  aided  and  helped  up  to  a  con- 
dition of  civilisation  and  comfort,  was  ever  his 
joy  and  rejoicing. 

As  showing  his  burning  zeal  and  heart's  desire 
for  the  extension  of  Christianity  among  all  the 
Indians  of  the  continent,  the  following  extract 
from  a  letter  written  to  the  Rev.  Peter  Jones,  a 
happy  Indian  convert,  about  whom  something 
will  be  said  later  on,  is  well  to  the  point. 

"  I  can  perceive  no  impediment  to  the  work  of 
God  becoming  general  throughout  the  wilderness 
of  America,  where  the  Indians  abide.  So  ex- 
tensive is  the  Chippeway,  and  so  zealous  are  the 
converts  of  that  people,  and  such  is  the  founda- 
tion now  laid  for  the  spread  of  the  work,  that  it 
will  extend  across  the  country  from  tribe  to  tribe 
to  Hudson's  Bay,  thence  west  through  all  the 
wandering  tribes.  What  a  day  will  this  be  for 
all  your  poor  unfortunate  people!  What  a  day 
of  mercy,  when  they  shall  not  only  be  saved 
from  their  wars,  which  are  now  wasting  one  an- 
other away,  but  saved  by  the  mighty  power  of 
grace,  to  become  a  happy  people,  even  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Lord!  And  what  an  honour  to  the 
Christian  church !  How  much  glory  will  redound 
to  an  all-conquering  Saviour!  And  how  happy 
the  instruments  employed  in  this  work!  I  say, 
I  can  perceive  nothing  to  hinder  the  general 
spread  of  this  great  work  throughout  the  whole 
wilderness  of  America,  but  the  want  of  means  to 
support  the  work." 

25 


Covetousness 

These  helpful  words  to  his  Indian  friend,  over 
whose  conversion  years  before  he  had  so  re- 
joiced, show  the  spirit  of  the  man  and  his  in- 
tense desire  for  the  salvation  of  all  the  Indians  on 
the  continent.  Would  that  they  had  been  ful- 
filled! 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  sad  to  think  that  his 
closing  sentence,  about  the  "want  of  means  to 
support  the  work"  is  still  so  sadly  significant. 
Once  the  longing  prayer  of  the  church  was  for 
three  things.  Open  doors,  consecrated  workers, 
and  means  with  which  to  send  them.  The  first 
two  of  the  petitions  have  been  answered.  The 
whole  world  is  open  to  receive  the  gospel.  Work- 
ers are  to  be  found  in  multitudes.  This  late  glor- 
ious volunteer  movement  among  the  students  of 
the  colleges,  for  mission  fields,  has  shown  that  all 
the  men  wanted,  are  available.  Sad  and  humilia- 
ting indeed  is  it,  to  have  to  mourn  over  the  want 
of  means,  in  order  to  send  these  willing  workers 
through  the  open  doors.  The  great  sin  of  Chris- 
tendom to-day  is  covetousness.  The  church  has 
the  money.  It  is  a  lie  in  the  sight  of  heaven  to 
deny  this.  She  has  money  enough  for  her  vani- 
ties and  luxuries,  but  she  will  not  yet  do  as  God 
demands  and  expects,  for  the  extension  of  His 
kingdom.  No  wonder  that  "  Zion  languisheth, 
and  the  love  of  many  has  grown  cold."  It  is  be- 
cause the  grace  of  liberality  is  so  little  cultivated. 

William  Case  lived  to  preach  his  jubilee 
sermon,  thus  grandly  ending  up  fifty  years  of 
faithful  service  in  the  ministry.     The  greater  part 

26 


Co-workers  of  Evans 

of  these  years  he  gave  to  the  evangelisation  and 
moral  elevation  of  the  Indians.  This  was  indeed 
his  great  work.  He  will  ever  be  remembered  as 
the  Apostle  of  the  Indian  tribes  in  Upper  Canada. 
For  them  he  lived,  and  for  them  he  died,  and 
among  them  he  lies  buried.  The  Great  Head  of 
the  Church,  who  gave  a  Swartz  to  India,  an 
Eliot  to  America,  a  Morrison  to  China,  also  gave 
a  William  Case  to  Canada.  Not  the  least  of  his 
work  was  the  finding  of  James  Evans  in  his 
backwood  schoolhouse,  among  the  children  of 
the  white  settlers,  and  transferring  him  first  to 
work  among  the  timid  untrained  offspring  of  the 
Indians,  then  but  partly  emerged  out  of  pagan 
darkness,  and  then  aiding  and  encouraging  him, 
until  he  had  entered  fully  into  his  marvellous 
missionary  life. 

With  him,  for  years  he  was  intimately  associ- 
ated, and  in  loving  harmony  did  they  together 
toil  for  the  salvation  of  the  red  men,  and  when 
in  later  years  their  pathways  diverged,  and  Mr. 
Evans  turned  his  face  toward  the  North  and  the 
tribes  there  living,  he  had  no  more  loving  and 
devoted  friend  than  William  Case.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  beautiful  testimony  to  the  life-work  of 
this  remarkable  man: 

"The  Rev.  William  Case  had  been  touched  by 
the  wretchedness  which  he  witnessed  in  the  In- 
dian camps,  as  he  rode  to  the  white  settlements, 
and  he  desired  earnestly  to  lead  these  people  into 
the  way  of  peace  and  light  and  truth.  The  desire 
begotten  in  his  breast  increased  until  it  burned  as 
27 


A  Merited  Tribute 

the  ruling  passion  of  his  life  for  thirty  years.  He 
became  the  presiding  genius  of  the  Indian  work 
in  the  country,  the  Canadian  apostle  of  the  In- 
dians, seeking  and  finding  men  and  money  for 
sending  the  gospel  to  these  people,  training 
teachers  and  preachers,  educating  the  Indian 
youth,  superintending  translations  of  hymns, 
portions  of  the  Bible,  and  other  kinds  of  litera- 
ture, and  caring  for  the  manual  training  of  the 
people,  it  was  he  who  discovered  and  trained 
James  Evans,  inventor  of  the  Cree  Syllabic  sys- 
tem; George  McDougall,  the  missionary  martyr 
of  the  Saskatchewan;  Henry  B.  Steinhauer,  who 
translated  the  greater  part  of  the  Bible  into  the 
Cree  language;  Kakewahquonaby — Peter  Jones 
— native  preacher,  translator,  and  author;  Shaw- 
undais — John  Sunday — the  Indian  chief,  orator, 
and  missionary;  and  a  host  of  others  who  have 
devoted  time,  energy,  talent  and  wealth  for  the 
salvation  of  the  Indian  race.  Christianise,  and 
then  civilise  the  Indians,  was  his  motto.  He  did 
not  attend  merely  to  mission  work,  and  neglect 
their  civilisation,  but  he  toiled  amid  innumerable 
difficulties  that  he  might  teach  the  people  the  art 
of  self-support;  and  on  his  mission  at  Alderville, 
the  manual  labour  school  was  part  of  the  religious 
life  of  the  Indian  youth. 

"  Dr.  Reed  mentions  an  instance  of  Case's  work 
amongst  the  Indians  before  the  era  of  Indian  mis- 
sions in  Upper  Canada  had  dawned.  He  was 
preaching  once  to  a  company  of  Indians,  and  en- 
deavouring to  impress  them  with  the  idea  of  the 

28 


Co-workers  of  Evans 

great  love  of  God  in  giving  His  Son  to  die  for  the 
world.  They  shook  their  heads  and  murmured 
their  dislike  of  the  idea  that  an  innocent  being 
should  be  made  to  die  for  the  guilty.  Perceiving 
this,  he  related  to  them  the  story  of  Pocahontas 
and  Captain  Smith,  of  which  they  had  tradi- 
tional knowledge.  He  told  them  how  the  king's 
daughter  threw  herself  upon  the  body  of  the 
victim  whom  her  father  had  abandoned  to  death, 
and  declared  they  might  kill  her,  but  they  must 
not  kill  the  white  man,  and  thus  for  her  sake,  his 
life  was  saved.  Immediately  the  Indians  showed 
the  most  lively  and  intense  interest,  and  seemed 
to  comprehend  and  approve  the  plan  of  salvation 
by  the  death  of  Christ.  The  enthusiasm  existing 
in  the  breasts  of  a  few  men  in  the  work  of 
Christianising  the  Indians  rapidly  spread,  and  the 
scattered  bands  heard  with  joy  the  good  news  of 
salvation  through  the  Great  Master  of  Life,  Jesus 
Christ." 

Another  very  interesting  co-labourer  for  years 
with  Mr.  Evans  was  Henry  Steinhauer.  He  was 
a  pure  Indian  lad,  and  was  one  of  the  first  who 
was  taken  from  an  Indian  wigwam  and  sent  to 
school  at  the  Credit  Mission.  He  was  a  bright 
and  clever  pupil,  and  early  displayed  fine  musical 
abilities.  On  account  of  his  sweet  voice,  he  was 
one  of  the  Indian  choir  of  children  whom  Wil- 
liam Case  took  with  him  on  a  missionary  tour  in 
the  United  States,  where  he  went  to  create  among 
the    churches    a   deeper    interest   in   missionary 

29 


Henry  Steinhauer 

work;  and  for  the  purpose  of  raising  funds  for 
the  extension  of  the  work  among  the  Indians. 
Great  crowds  attended  his  meetings,  and  all  were 
charmed  and  delighted.  Especially  were  they 
pleased  with  the  singing  of  the  Indian  children. 
At  one  place  a  gentleman  offered  to  defray  the 
whole  expense  of  the  education  of  one  of  the 
boys,  if  he  would  assume  his  name.  The  lad  to 
whom  he  took  such  a  fancy,  and  who  assumed 
his  name,  was  Henry  Steinhauer.  Some  years 
were  spent  by  young  Henry  at  school  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  and  then  he  returned  to  Canada, 
and  remained  at  Victoria  college  until  1840,  when, 
with  the  Rev.  James  Evans  and  Peter  Jacobs,  he 
started  for  the  far  North  Land. 

Mr.  Evans  ever  found  him  to  be  a  most  invalu- 
able helper  in*  his  arduous  work.  He  was  always 
cheerful  and  bright,  as  well  as  Christlike  in  his 
everyday  life.  For  fourteen  years  he  did  grand 
and  heroic  service  for  the  Master  in  those  lonely 
regions.  His  duties  were  very  diversified,  but  in 
them  all  he  was  faithful  and  painstaking.  He 
was  a  school-teacher,  minister,  and  translator  of 
various  portions  of  Scripture,  and  many  hymns. 
He  also  became  quite  a  proficient  printer,  and  aided 
in  preparing  and  circulating  many  portions  of  the 
Word  of  God,  as  printed  in  Evans'  Syllabic  Char- 
acters, which  he  thoroughly  understood.  Failing 
health  compelled  him  to  return  East  for  a  rest. 

In  1855  Henry  Steinhauer  again  returned  to  the 
Indian  work   in  the  far  Northwest.     This  time 
his  first  field  of  toil  was  at  the  foot  of  the  Rocky 
30 


Co-workers  of  Evans 

Mountains,  among  the  Assiniboines  or  Rocky 
Mountain  Stonies,  where  a  successful  and  endur- 
ing work  had  been  commenced  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Rundle,  and  which  he  had  been  obhged 
to  leave  several  years  before  the  coming  of  Mr. 
Steinhauer.  We  here  give  a  beautiful  story 
which  the  writer  had  from  the  lips  of  Mr.  Stein- 
hauer himself. 

At  one  of  the  missions  in  the  Saskatchewan 
country  the  Rev.  William  Rundle  was  very  much 
owned  of  God  in  the  conversion  of  a  band  of 
Indians.  Circumstances  made  it  necessary  for 
Mr.  Rundle  to  return  to  England.  For  several 
years  the  Indians  at  that  place  were  never  once 
visited  by  a  missionary  or  teacher.  After  many 
days  of  weary  travelling  over  the  prairies,  Mr. 
Steinhauer  reached  that  lonely  western  Indian  vil- 
lage. He  told  me  that  the  hour  for  camping  over- 
took him  several  miles  from  the  village,  but  so  anx- 
ious was  he  to  be  with  the  people  among  whom  he 
had  come  to  labour,  and  to  end  his  journey  often 
weeks,  that  he  could  not  bear  the  idea  of  camp- 
ing so  near  them;  so  he  pushed  on  in  the  even- 
ing twilight,  ahead  of  his  party,  to  the  spot 
where  he  saw  the  wigwam  village  on  the  prai- 
ries. When  he  drew  near  to  the  outermost  wig- 
wam which  was  a  large  one,  he  heard  singing, 
and  great  indeed  was  his  surprise  to  find  that  in- 
stead of  its  being  the  monotonous  droning  of  the 
pagan  medicine-man  or  conjurer,  it  was  a  good 
Christian  tune,  and  one  with  which  he  was  very 
familiar. 

31 


A  Beautiful  Story- 
Soon  the  singing  ceased,  and  then  after  a  little 
pause,  a  clear,  manly  voice  began  to  pray.  For  a 
time  the  prayer  seemed  to  be  all  thanksgiving, 
and  then  there  went  up  an  urgent  request  from 
the  earnest  suppliant:  "Lord  send  us  another 
missionary  like  Rundle.  Lord  send  us  a  mission- 
ary, to  teach  us  out  of  Thy  Word  more  about 
Thyself,  and  Thy  Son  Jesus."  Mr.  Steinhauer 
said  he  was  thrilled  and  delighted,  and  so  he 
lifted  up  the  hanging  tanned-leather  door,  and 
quietly  entered  and  bowed  down  with  them  in 
prayer.  When  they  arose  he  told  them  who  he 
was,  and  that  he  had  come  to  dwell  among  them 
as  their  missionary.  Great  indeed  was  their  joy 
and  excitement.  They  crowded  around  him, 
and  some  of  them  kissed  him,  and  all  welcomed 
him  with  shouts  and  tears  of  gladness  as  though 
he  had  just  come  down  from  heaven  to  dwell 
among  them. 

Anxious  to  know  as  to  the  people's  steadfast- 
ness and  integrity  through  all  those  years  of 
neglect  in  which  the  Church  had  left  them  alone, 
I  said  to  Mr,  Steinhauer,  "Tell  me,  my  brother, 
in  what  state  did  you  find  them  as  regards  their 
religious  life,  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and 
their  religious  services  ?  " 

"  Brother  Young,"  said  he,  "  it  was  just  like  a 
conference  change  of  ministers.  It  seemed  to  me 
as  though  my  predecessor  has  only  been  gone 
two  or  three  weeks.  They  had  remembered  the 
Sabbath  days,  and  had  kept  them.  They  had  not 
neglected  any  of  their  religious  services,  and  they 

.32 


Co-workers  of  Evans 

were  living  as  consistent  lives  as  God's  dear  chil- 
dren anywhere." 

For  many  years  he  toiled  nobly  on  in  the  midst 
of  dangers  and  privations  among  those  tribes  of 
the  plains.  Rocky  Mountain  House,  Edmonton, 
and  White  Fish  Lake,  were  among  the  places 
where  he  pleaded,  and  not  in  vain,  with  the  then 
wild,  warlike  tribes  to  accept  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
as  their  Saviour  and  their  friend.  He  lived  to  a 
good  old  age,  and  then  went  triumphantly  home 
to  join  the  innumerable  multitude  that  are  in  the 
Paradise  of  God. 

Two  devoted,  godly,  well-educated  sons  are 
carrying  on  the  work.  One  at  the  time  of  writ- 
ing, is  stationed  at  Morleyville,  in  the  foothills  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains;  the  other  son  is  doing 
good  work  among  the  Crees  at  Fisher  River,  on 
the  western  side  of  Lake  Winnipeg. 


33 


Ill 

TEACHING  THE  INDIANS 

Mr.  Evans  appointed  to  Rice  Lake  Indian  School — Received 
into  the  Ministry — Rev.  John  Carroll's  visit  to  the  Mission — 
John  Pigeon — Oozhuskah — Muncey  Mission — Rev.  Solomon 
Waldron — The  Teacher  and  the  drunken  Indian — Fire-water, 
the  curse  of  the  Indians — The  Stand  taken  by  the  Mission- 
aries— The  Four  Indians  and  the  keg  of  Whiskey — The  In- 
dians of  Grape  Island — Muncey  Camp-Meeting — Peter  Jones' 
Report — James  Evans  at  the  St.  Clair  Mission. 

About  two  years  after  Mr.  Evans'  religious 
quickening,  through  the  instrumentality  of  some 
of  the  ministers  who  had  noticed  his  abilities,  he 
was  appointed  to  the  charge  of  an  Indian  school 
at  Rice  Lake,  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water  several 
miles  north  of  Lake  Ontario. 

Here  in  1828  began,  what  may  well  be  called 
his  life-work.  From  this  time  forward  his  name 
is  to  be  found  inseparably  connected  with  Indian 
evangelisation.  To  it  he  devoted  all  his  abilities 
and  talents.  In  behalf  of  the  red  men  of  the 
country,  his  labours  were  so  many,  and  so  inces- 
sant, that  most  men  would  have  sunk  under 
them.  But  with  a  zeal  that  never  flagged,  a 
courage  that  never  faltered,  a  love  that  never 
cooled,  he  pushed  on  amidst  storm  and  sunshine, 
into  the  older  provinces  of  the  Dominion,  and 
then  in  later  years,  by  canoe  and  dog-train,  in 

34 


Teaching  the   Indians 

tempests  and  blizzards,  into  the  vast  regions  tiiat 
stretch  from  Lake  Superior  away  to  the  mighty 
Mackenzie  River. 

When  James  Evans  was  appointed  to  the  Rice 
Lake  mission  as  school-teacher,  there  was  not  a 
house  built  on  the  reservation.  The  Indians  all 
dwelt  in  wigwams.  All  the  land  was  still  wild 
and  uncultivated.  But  with  his  brave  young 
wife,  he  went  there  and  tented,  until,  with  his 
own  hands,  he  had  built  a  small  log  house.  Then 
he  built  a  schoolhouse,  and  opened  his  school 
with  about  forty  scholars.  About  a  year  later,  in 
writing  to  a  friend,  he  says: 

"Dec.  28,  1829. 
"The  school  consists  now  of  fifty  scholars. 
Twenty-two  of  them  are  reading  the  English 
reader  and  the  New  Testament.  We  have  lately 
commenced  reading  the  translation  of  seven 
chapters  of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  in  the  native 
tongue.     Fourteen  are  studying  arithmetic." 

Not  a  bad  beginning  for  the  young  school- 
teacher. From  the  first  he  shows  his  versatility. 
Building  a  house  for  himself  and  his  equally 
courageous  and  hopeful  wife;  then  a  school- 
house;  and  then  getting  fifty  wild  Indian  chil- 
dren from  their  wigwams  and  so  treating  them 
that  in  one  year,  twenty-two  are  able  to  read  the 
New  Testament.  In  addition,  he  so  mastered  the 
Ojibway  language  in  that  time,  as  to  be  able  to 
translate,  as  we  see  from  his  letter,  seven  chapters 
of  one  of  the  gospels. 

35 


John  Carroll's  Visit 

In  1830,  James  Evans  was  received  into  the 
ministry.  He  still,  however,  remained  at  Rice 
Lake,  having  also  in  charge  another  band  of  con- 
verted Indians  at  Mud  Lake.  Here  in  addition  to 
his  work  for  the  natives,  he  also  had  the  religious 
oversight  of,  and  frequently  preached  among  the 
white  settlers  at  seventeen  different  places  within 
a  radius  of  fifty  or  sixty  miles.  But  his  best 
energies  were  thrown  into  his  Indian  work.  He 
mastered  the  language  of  the  people,  and  began 
a  careful  study  of  the  construction  of  the  differ- 
ent Indian  dialects,  which  was  of  invaluable 
service  to  him  in  after  years  when  inventing  the 
syllabic  characters. 

Not  only  did  he  aim  to  bring  the  Indians  from 
under  the  fetters  of  their  degrading  paganism 
into  the  light  of  the  gospel,  but  he  did  all  he 
could  to  teach  them  the  essential  methods  of  civ- 
ilisation. Cleanliness,  thrift  and  industry  were 
urged  and  taught  both  by  precept  and  example. 
Many  were  his  discouragements,  but  a  goodly 
measure  of  success  crowned  the  persevering 
efforts  of  himself  and  his  fellow-toilers.  The 
following  account  is  given  by  Rev.  John  Carroll 
of  a  visit  to  one  of  these  Indian  missions,  where 
Mr.  Evans  was  then  the  teacher  and  actual  over- 
seer of  the  work  of  transforming  these  once  wild 
savages  into  a  civilised  people.  A  training  school 
for  the  boys  and  girls  had  also  been  commenced, 
and  here  resided  Rev.  William  Case  and  his  wife, 
who  were  ever  at  the  front  in  everything  that 
pertained  to  the  uplifting  of  the  Indian.     We 

36 


Teaching  the  Indians 

will  leave  Mr.  Carroll  to  give  his  account  of  what 
he  saw. 

"  We  were  the  guests  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Case  in 
the  mission-house,   beholding  the  order  of  the 
mission  family,  the  tidiness  of  the  girls  under 
training,  and  testing  the  excellency  of  the  cheese 
and  butter  and  other  don>estic  manufactures  of 
the  establishment.     Mr.  Case  conducted  me  over 
the  village  the  following  week,  to  see  the  prog- 
ress made  in  farming,  and  the  amount  of  domes- 
tic comfort  to  which  some  of  the  families  had  at- 
tained.    This   was  particularly  apparent  in   the 
house  of  an  Indian  by  the  name  of  Mr.  John  Simp- 
son.    But  the  instance  which  impressed  me  most, 
from  the  power  of  contrast  between  the  former 
and  present  condition  of  the  family  to  be  men- 
tioned, was   one  on  which  the   venerable   mis- 
sionary particularly  delighted  to  dwell.     He  took 
me  to  a  sightly  sizable  hewed  log-house,  well- 
furnished   in  all  respects,   in  the   front  part  of 
a  good  clearing.     There  was  a  large  new  frame 
barn  on  the  premises,  not  quite  finished.     In  the 
barnyard  I  saw  a  good  yoke  of  oxen,  in  good 
condition,  two  cows,  I  think  a  flock  of  sheep, 
several  pigs  and  poultry  besides.     We  entered  the 
house;  it  was  scrupulously  clean  and  well  fur- 
nished with  stoves,  tables,  chairs  and  beds  with 
bed-curtains.     The  husband  was  away,  but  the 
wife  and  children  were  tidy  and  busy  at  their  do- 
mestic engagements.     When  we  had  retired,  the 
elder  said  in  substance  as  follows:    'That  is  the 
property  of  John  Pigeon,  one  of  the  last  members 

37 


John  Pigeon 

of  the  Belleville  band  converted.  He  had  been 
away  somewhere  below  for  a  long  time  and  when 
he  returned  to  Grape  Island,  the  work  of  evan- 
gelisation had  nearly  completed  its  process  of 
change.  The  Indians  were  converted  and  their 
houses  and  chapel  were  erected  on  the  islet  which 
had  been  a  tangled  mass  of  grapevines  and  bushes 
before.  He  came  in  his  canoe,  which  contained 
his  wife  and  papooses.  They  were  pitiable  to 
look  at  for  squalor  and  poverty.  He  was  partic- 
ularly destitute,  he  had  neither  hat  nor  shoes, 
neither  shirt  nor  trousers,  nothing  on  his  person 
but  a  dirty  blanket  coat,  full  of  vermin,  tied  around 
him  with  a  rope.  He  had  heard  that  some  sort 
of  magical  influence  had  fallen  upon  the  tribe, 
and  he  saw  the  magical  effects  before  his  eyes, 
and  he  was  afraid  to  land.  His  brethren  came  to 
the  shore  and  entreated  him,  but  when  they  ap- 
proached the  shore,  he  put  out  his  paddle  and 
pushed  off  to  a  distance.  At  length  however, 
hunger  or  something  else,  induced  him  to  land. 
He  soon  came  under  the  power  of  prayer  and 
truth — he  was  converted — proved  steadfast,  and 
progressive  in  religion — turned  out  to  have  good 
gifts — was  more  than  usually  industrious  and 
thrifty;  and  now,'  said  the  elder,  'besides  this 
comfortable  home,  that  same,  naked,  destitute 
John  Pigeon  is  one  of  our  best  and  most  reliable 
class-leaders.' " 

Although  the  condition  of  the  Indians  at  this 
period  was  most  discouraging,  there  were  some 
remarkable  conversions  among  them.     The  fol- 
38 


Teaching  the  Indians 

lowing  account  of  the  marvellous  transformations 
wrought  by  the  gospel  is  from  the  pen  of  the 
Rev.  James  Evans,  himself.  The  narrative  gives 
some  insight  into  the  Indian  character,  and  is  an 
illustration  of  the  different  ways  in  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  works  on  the  human  heart.  Still  is 
the  gospel  "the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to 
everyone  that  believeth."  When  Mr.  Evans  wrote 
the  narrative,  Oozhuskah  was  still  alive.  Years 
ago  he  finished  his  course,  and  joined  the  innu- 
merable company  in  the  Paradise  of  God. 

"Oozhuskah,  a  native  Indian  of  the  Ojibway 
tribe,  now  resides  at  Mackinaw.  He  was  once 
of  the  lowest  and  most  abandoned  of  that  profli- 
gate class  of  Indians,  who  have  measurably  for- 
saken their  native  wilds,  and  linger  about  the  set- 
tlements of  the  whites.  His-stature  is  small;  his 
frame,  worn  down  with  age  and  debilitated  by 
former  dissipation,  presents  a  strange  ghastliness 
of  appearance,  which  would  almost  excite  the 
belief  that  Oozhuskah  is  a  deserter  from  the  land 
of  departed  spirits.  But  however  fearful  and  sus- 
picious his  character  may  have  once  been,  those 
acquainted  with  him  now,  do  not  fear  him;  his 
spirit  formerly  wild,  untameable  and  intriguing, 
is  at  present  gentle,  honest  and  guileless.  His 
name  once  stood  unrivalled  as  a  prophet  and  he 
was  considered  invincible  as  a  warrior. 

"The  missionaries  stationed  at  Mackinaw  had 
often  faithfully  tried  to  instruct  him  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  God;  but  he  always  responded  to  their 
instructions  with  the  most  supercilious  contempt, 

39 


Oozhuskah 

and  their  lessons  were  apparently  '  pearls  cast 
before  swine.'  But  they  were  not  lost.  They 
were  lodged  in  the  memory  of  Oozhuskah.  He 
narrated  them  to  his  wife,  who  was  as  drunken 
as  himself,  but  when  sober,  these  lessons  formed 
a  fruitful  theme  for  conversation. 

"  In  the  winter,  as  usual,  Oozhuskah  chose  his 
hunting-ground  some  fifty  miles  from  Mackinaw. 
Here,  with  no  companion  but  his  aged  squaw,  he 
pitched  his  lowly  tent  in  the  recesses  of  the  for- 
est. Here  the  inebriating  draught  was  beyond 
their  reach;  and  they  had  time  for  reflection,  and 
for  converse.  They  had  not  long  occupied  their 
quarters  when  Mekagase,  Oozhuskah's  wife,  was 
taken  ill;  Oozhuskah's  conjuring  songs,  and  In- 
dian medicines  could  not  cure  her.  During  this 
severe  illness  she  retained  her  senses.  The  truth 
of  heaven  dwelt  upon  her  mind;  her  understand- 
ing told  her  she  was  a  wretched  sinner;  that  she 
had  all  her  life  persisted  in  doing  knowingly  and 
wilfully  wrong.  Death  stared  her  in  the  face  and 
she  was  afraid  to  die;  her  conscience  convinced 
her  she  was  unprepared,  and  that  as  a  conse- 
quence of  her  wickedness  she  must  accept  misery 
hereafter.  Trembling  on  the  threshold  of  eter- 
nity, she  humbled  herself,  prayed  to  the  Great 
Spirit  in  compassion  to  forgive  her,  to  blot  out 
her  sins  and  receive  her  departing  spirit. 

"Suddenly  the  fears  of  Mekagase  were  taken 
away;  joy  filled  her  heart,  and  she  felt  indescrib- 
ably more  happy  than  when  in  youth  she  had 
joined  the  Indian  dance  around  the  evening  fires 

40 


Teaching  the   Indians 

of  her  tribe.  In  short  she  experienced  what  the 
apostle  designates  'joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory ! '  From  that  hour  her  disease  abated.  She 
felt  she  was  a  new  creature;  and,  unlike  too  many 
enlightened  Christians,  she  did  not  reason  herself 
out  of  the  faith;  but,  taking  the  simple  testimony 
of  the  Spirit  bearing  witness  with  her  own,  spoke 
of  her  hopes  and  her  joys  to  Oozhuskah,  with 
ecstasy  and  confidence;  she  warned  him  of  his 
folly  and  wickedness,  with  such  convincing  tes- 
timony, that  his  heart  was  touched.  He  prayed 
to  the  Great  Spirit;  the  radiance  of  Divine  truth 
beamed  on  his  benighted  understanding,  melting 
his  hardened  heart,  and  in  ten  days  from  his 
wife's  remarkable  conversion,  Oozhuskah  could 
heartily  join  with  her  in  offering  their  morning 
and  evening  orisons  to  the  Great  Spirit  in  praise 
of  redeeming  grace. 

"  When  the  hunting  season  was  over  they  re- 
turned to  Mackinaw,  where  they  lost  no  time  in 
making  known  the  change  wrought  in  their  feel- 
ings; and  from  that  day  to  this,  they  have  at- 
tested the  verity  of  their  conversion  by  well- 
ordered  lives  and  godly  conversion. 

"  Oozhuskah  narrated  to  me  the  following  ac- 
count of  his  former  life:  "From  the  earliest 
period  of  my  recollection,  inspired  by  the  tradi- 
tions of  my  tribe,  I  had  an  insatiable  thirst  to  be- 
come a  prophet.  ...  To  accomplish  this 
object  I  commenced  a  fast.  I  partook  of  no  kind 
of  nourishment  for  twenty  days,  excepting  the 
broth  of  a  little  boiled  corn  after  the  going  down 

41 


Oozhuskah's  Conversion 

of  the  sun.  On  the  twentieth  day  I  caused  my 
tent  to  be  erected  alone  in  the  forest:  I  entered 
it,  and  on  that  evening  ate  nothing.  I  was  almost 
famished  with  hunger;  my  skin  clave  to  my 
bones  and  I  had  barely  strength  to  stand  on  my 
feet.  Nearly  fainting,  I  laid  down  in  my  tent 
determined  to  die  or  obtain  the  object  of  my  de- 
sire. 1  lay  until  nearly  midnight  when  suddenly 
a  man  entered  my  tent.  '  What  are  you  doing  ? 
Why  are  you  here?  and  what  do  you  want?' 
said  he.  I  replied,  '  I  am  fasting,  almost  dead, 
and  must  soon  perish  with  hunger.'  Before  I  had 
time  to  say  more,  he  rejoined,  '  Follow  me; '  and 
it  seemed  as  if  my  spirit  left  my  body.  I  rose 
and  went  out  of  my  tent;  he  then  took  me  by 
the  arm  and  we  both  ascended  into  the  air,  and 
moved  on  with  the  utmost  ease  and  rapidity." 
"  Oozhuskah  then  related  the  adventures  of  his 
journey;  how  his  long  fasting  had  gained  the  ap- 
probation of  the  gods,  and  how  they  made  him  a 
mighty  prophet.  .  .  .  After  this  he  found 
himself  in  his  tent  extremely  hungry;  he  partook 
of  some  food  and  slept  sweetly.  When  he 
awoke  the  next  morning  he  felt  proud,  consider- 
ing himself  superior  to  all  the  Indians  around 
him.  From  this  time  all  the  promises  of  the  gods 
were  fulfilled  till  the  illness  of  Mekagase,  '  when,' 
he  adds,  '  I  was  led  by  her  conversion  to  examine 
myself,  and  saw  that  I  was  a  wretch,  and  a  child 
of  the  devil.  Then  1  prayed  to  the  Great  Spirit 
and  He  heard  and  forgave  me. 

"  '  At  that  time  1  had  a  large  collection  of  medi- 
42 


Teaching  the  Indians 

cines,  some  to  kill  and  some  to  cure:  I  threw 
them  all  away,  and  my  hawk  or  totem  has  not 
since  visited  me,  and  God  grant  he  never  may.  I 
was  the  most  wicked  of  men;  my  converse  with 
the  strange  man  of  the  cave  made  me  proud,  but 
it  did  not  make  me  happy.  But  I  bless  God  that 
now  a  Spirit  unseen  communes  with  my  heart; 
and  though  it  does  not  teach  me  how  to  destroy 
my  enemies,  it  teaches  me  to  forgive  and  love 
them.'" 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  these  early 
Indian  missions  where  some  marvellous  evidences 
of  the  transforming  power  of  the  gospel  were 
seen  was  at  Muncey  on  the  River  Thames, 
twenty-four  miles  from  the  city  of  London,  On- 
tario. This  mission  has  always  had  a  great 
fascination  for  the  writer,  as  there  for  some  time 
his  sainted  mother,  before  her  marriage,  was  a 
teacher  among  the  Indian  boys  and  girls,  who  had 
been  gathered  in  from  the  various  wigwams  and 
forest  homes. 

Quite  a  number  of  men  and  women  had  heard 
and  accepted  of  Christianity.  Some  little  houses 
and  been  built  and  quite  a  number  of  acres  of 
land  had  been  brought  under  cultivation.  Pota- 
toes and  corn  were  being  raised  in  considerable 
quantities,  and  there  were  many  other  signs  of 
progress  and  comfort.  The  mission  house  which 
was  two  stories  in  height,  was  so  constructed 
that  the  missionary,  my  uncle,  the  Rev.  Solomon 
Waldron  and  his  family,  and  my  mother,  dwelt 
in  the  lower  story   while  the  upper  one  served  as 

43 


"Marry  Me,  or  I'll  Kill  You" 

a  church  on  the  Sunday,  and  as  a  schoolhouse  dur- 
ing the  week-days.  In  this  room,  my  dear  mother 
not  only  endeavoured  to  teach  her  little  red  pupils 
to  read  and  write,  but  was  even  more  anxious  to 
instruct  them  in  the  simple  truths  of  Christianity. 
For  a  couple  of  years  or  so  she  toiled,  and  was  re- 
warded by  a  good  degree  of  success.  The 
children  were  bright  and  docile,  and  became 
much  interested  in  the  story  of  a  Saviour's  love. 

One  hot  summer's  day  the  missionary  and  his 
wife  being  absent  attending  to  some  mission 
matters  at  another  place,  and  mother  being  en- 
tirely alone  with  her  pupils,  there  rushed  up  the 
outside  stairway,  the  only  way  by  which  there 
was  access  to  the  schoolroom,  a  drunken  pagan 
Indian  chief.  Drawing  his  tomahawk,  he  sprang 
at  my  mother  and  shouted;  "  If  you  don't  promise 
to  marry  me,  I  will  kill  you!  " 

My  mother  seeing  his  drunken  frenzied  condi- 
tion, knew  at  once  that  there  was  no  use  trying 
to  reason  with  him,  and  that  her  only  hope  was 
in  getting  away  from  him.  So  she  suddenly  ran 
along  the  narrow  aisle  or  passage  that  was  be- 
tween the  benches  on  which  sat  the  now  ter- 
rified children,  until  she  came  to  the  open  win- 
dow at  the  end.  As  the  drunken  Indian  had 
followed  her,  she  sprang  out  of  the  window, 
although  it  was  on  the  second  story,  and  there- 
fore quite  a  distance  from  the  ground.  Just  as 
she  threw  herself  out  the  wretched  fellow  man- 
aged to  get  hold  of  the  skirt  of  her  dress.  For- 
tunately for  her,  the  dress  tore  off  at  her  waist, 
44 


V 


Pleading  for  the  Repentant  Indian. 


Teaching  the   Indians 

and  let  her  easily  down  to  the  ground,  without 
her  suffering  any  injury.  Quickly  rushing  into 
the  house,  she  caught  up  a  morning  wrapper, 
and  throwing  that  around  herself,  she  hurried 
away  to  a  cornfield,  where  a  number  of  Chris- 
tian Indians  were  busily  at  work.  To  them  she 
told  the  story  of  the  drunken  young  chief's  words 
and  conduct.  They  were  indignant  at  this  in- 
sult to  their  young  teacher,  and  at  once  rushed 
back  to  the  schoolroom  where  the  drunken 
chief  still  was.  His  being  a  chief  did  not  save 
him  from  their  ire.  They  gave  him  a  severe 
thrashing  and  then  hauled  him  off  to  the  forest 
where  they  tied  him  hand  and  foot  securely  to  a 
tree  and  left  him  to  sober  off,  and  reflect  on  his 
conduct  at  his  leisure.  For  days  there  was  he  left 
without  food  or  water.  He  was  eventually  re- 
leased at  the  importunities  of  my  mother,  who 
pitied  the  poor  fellow  in  his  severe  punishment. 
The  white  man,  who  gave  him  the  fire-water, 
was  really  more  to  blame  than  the  young  chief,  as 
when  sober  he  was  a  harmless,  inoffensive  man. 
The  punishment  seemed  to  have  done  him  good, 
as  ever  after  he  was  inclined  to  have  nothing  to 
do  with  that  which  had  brought  him  into  such 
trouble  and  disgrace. 

The  great  curse  of  the  Indian  is  fire-water. 
Their  love  for  strong  drink  is  their  greatest  weak- 
ness. When  America  was  discovered,  the  In- 
dians had  no  intoxicants.  They  were  content  to 
drink  the  waters  from  the  streams  and  lakes. 
But  the  white    man    introduced    his  spirituous 

45 


Love  for  Fire-water 

liquors  among  them,  and  many  and  grievous 
have  been  the  evils  that  have  followed.  It  has 
been  hard  to  account  for  the  strange  infatuation 
the  Indians  have  for  stimulants.  We  have  never 
seen  any  satisfactory  reason  given  to  account  for 
it.  It  is  not  hereditary.  It  is  not  because  some 
have  been  accustomed  to  it.  Indians  from  the 
far  north,  where  it  was  unknown,  when  brought 
south  and  given  a  taste  of  it,  were  eager  and  wild 
for  more. 

One  reason  in  the  early  days,  why  the  whisky 
vendors  who  were  also  fur  traders,  urged  upon 
the  Indians  the  fire-water,  was  to  get  them  into 
such  an  intoxicated  condition  that  their  generally 
shrewd  and  cautious  habits  of  trade  would  be  so 
affected  by  the  drink  that  they  became  utterly 
careless  and  reckless  before  the  trading  time  ar- 
rived. In  some  of  the  tribes  the  men  nearly  all 
became  drunkards,  and  at  times  terrible  were  the 
sufferings  and  hardships  endured  by  the  poor 
wives  and  children,  when  all  the  men  in  an  In- 
dian encampment  were  in  a  drunken  debauch. 
Lives  were  frequently  sacrificed,  and  many  were 
maimed  for  life. 

Mr.  Evans  and  other  missionaries,  at  once  in- 
sisted on  all  the  Indian  converts  becoming  total 
abstainers  from  all  intoxicating  liquors.  Never 
using  these  things  themselves,  they  were  thus 
able  by  example,  as  well  as  precept  to  impress 
upon  the  native  Christians  the  necessity  of  for 
ever  giving  up  that  which  had  been  such  a  curse 
to  their  fellow-countrymen. 

46 


Teaching  the   Indians 

In  some  places  Mr.  Evans  and  others  met  with 
fierce  opposition.  Unprincipled  white  men  who 
had  been  thriving  on  the  trade  of  selling  fire- 
water to  the  Indians,  were  furious  when  the  trade 
fell  off,  and  their  gains  ceased.  Not  content 
with  giving  all  the  annoyance  they  could  to  the 
missionary,  they  tried  by  various  schemes  and 
stratagems  to  get  the  Christian  Indians  drunk. 

The  following  story  is  given  by  the  Rev.  Peter 
Jones,  who,  as  our  pages  show,  was  long  as- 
sociated with  Mr.  Evans  in  missionary  work. 

"The  Rev.  Thomas  Hurlburt  informed  me  that 
four  Indians  from  Muncey  Town  went  to  the 
white  settlement  to  trade.  The  trader  tempted 
them  to  drink  some  whisky  but  they  refused, 
saying  they  were  Christians.  Finding  he  could 
not  succeed,  he  thought  perhaps  they  were  afraid 
lest  someone  should  see  them  drink  and  tell  the 
missionary,  and  that  if  they  could  take  it  slyly 
they  would  drink  as  formerly.  Knowing  the 
road  they  would  return  home,  he  put  a  small  keg 
of  whisky  by  the  side  of  the  Indian  path  at  the 
edge  of  a  sloping  bank,  and  hid  himself  in  the 
bushes  beneath,  thinking  to  enjoy  the  sport  of 
seeing  them  drink  when  all  alone.  At  length 
they  came  along  in  Indian  file;  when,  suddenly 
the  first  one  stopped,  and  exclaimed: — 'O,  mah- 
je-mum-e-doo  sah-oomah  ahyah: — Lo,  the  evil 
spirit  (the  devil)  is  here.'  The  second,  on  com- 
ing up,  said,  'Aahe,  nebeje-mahmahsah : — Yes, 
me  smell  him.'  The  third  shook  the  keg  with 
his  foot,  and  said,  '  Kaguit,  nenoondahwahsah: 

47 


The  Keg  of  Whisky 

—Of  a  truth  me  hear  him.'  The  fourth  Indian 
coming  up,  gave  the  keg  a  kick  and  away  went 
the  fire-water,  tumbling  down  the  hill.  The  four 
Indians  went  on  their  way  like  brave  warriors, 
leaving  the  mortified  white  heathen  to  take  up 
his  keg  and  drink  the  devil  himself." 

Of  an  Indian  at  the  Grape  Island  mission  the 
following  story  is  told.  It  shows  how  strong 
had  become  the  hatred  of  the  Christian  Indians  at 
this  mission  for  whisky  drinking. 

"A  Christian  had  gone  out  in  the  bay  in  a 
canoe  and  been  driven  off  in  a  storm;  and  in  his 
danger  had  been  picked  up  by  a  steamboat.  The 
poor  Indian  was  almost  exhausted  and  the  cap- 
tain of  the  steamboat  made  him  drink  a  glass  of 
whisky.  When  he  came  back  to  the  village  the 
Indians  were  so  afflicted  that  he  should  under 
any  circumstances  drink  whisky,  that  they  took 
up  a  discipline  with  him,  (/.  e.,  they  disciplined 
him;)  and  for  one  whole  afternoon  and  evening, 
alternately,  one  would  exhort-  him,  and  another 
pray  for  him,  and  then  they  w  uld  make  him 
promise  that  he  would  drink  no  more  whisky." 

At  all  of  his  missions  Mr.  Evans  endeavoured 
to  instil  into  the  minds  of  his  Indian  converts  this 
same  hatred  of  the  fire-water.  It  is  a  matter  of 
congratulation  that  now  the  government  of  Can- 
ada, in  every  part  of  the  Dominion,  severely  pun- 
ishes any  persons  who  give  or  in  any  way  try  to 
induce  an  Indian  to  drink  intoxicants.  If  it  is 
found  best  for  Indians  to  be  total  abstainers,  why 
would  it  not  be  also  best  for  white  people  ? 

48 


Four  Indians  and  the  Keg  of  Whiskey, 


Teaching  the   Indians 

For  many  long  years  Muncey  Town  Mission 
has  flourished.  It  was  famous  for  some  great 
Indian  camp-meetings  of  the  old-fashioned  style, 
now  long  gone  out  of  date.  Of  one  of  them 
Rev.  Peter  Jones  writes,  in  which  he  shows  how 
grandly  the  work  was  extending  among  the  vari- 
ous Indian  tribes.     He  says: 

"We  had  a  large  attendance  of  the  Indian  breth- 
ren, who  pitched  their  tents  around  the  grounds, 
in  order  to  worship  the  Great  Spirit,  who  filling 
the  wilderness  with  the  Divine  presence,  made  us 
all  feel  that  '  this  place  was  none  other  than  the 
House  of  God  and  the  gate  of  Heaven.' 

"Never  did  a  congregation  of  Christians  enter 
more  heartily  into  the  work  of  prayer  and  praise, 
and  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  pour  out  His  Holy 
Spirit  in  a  most  powerful  manner.  A  number  of 
Credit  Indians  rendered  usSful  service.  The  pure 
flame  of  Divine  love  was  abundantly  bestowed 
upon  them  and  they  shouted  and  praised  the 
Lord  aloud.  Some  of  the  St.  Clair  Indians  were 
with  us  and  they  left  with  warm  hearts. 

"We  also  had  a  good  number  of  Delawares  and 
Muncies  from  the  Grand  River,  and  some  from 
Moraviantown.  1  hope  they  in  like  manner 
went  away  with  the  blessing  of  the  Lord.  The 
Mohawk  speakers,  who  came  from  the  Grand 
River,  made  themselves  useful  among  the  Oneida 
Indians,  and  much  good  was  done.  We  had 
good  order  throughout  all  the  meetings.  The 
parting  procession  and  the  hand-shakings  of 
49 


Indian  Camp-meeting 

these  Indians  with  each  other  was  a  scene  calcu- 
lated to  awaken  the  most  lively  emotion.  Some 
Indians  wept  in  silence,  while  others  shouted 
aloud  for  joy.  Love  beamed  in  every  counte- 
nance! How  different  this  from  their  former 
drunken  frolics,  and  powow  dances,  at  which 
nothing  but  hatred,  quarrelling,  fighting  and  the 
grossest  superstitions  reigned! 

"O  the  sweet  and  harmonious  effects  of 
Christianity!  Who  would  not  be  a  Christian! 
May  the  Great  Spirit  still  carry  on  His  glorious 
work  among  my  native  brethren,  so  prays  your 
Indian  friend  and  brother  in  Christ, 

"  Peter  Jones." 

The  foregoing  letter  is  worthy  of  thoughtful 
consideration.  Here  is  this  Indian,  once  himself 
a  wild  superstitious  pagan,  now  a  useful  mis- 
sionary. In  his  letter  he  writes  about  various 
tribes  once  bitterly  hostile  to  each  other,  but  now 
under  the  blessed  transforming  power  of  the 
gospel,  meeting  for  a  week  or  ten  days,  to  wor- 
ship the  Great  Spirit  in  the  leafy  temple,  and 
singing  together  the  praises  of  God  and  wor- 
shipping at  His  feet.  Surely  such  transforma- 
tions exceed  all  the  dreams  of  the  romancer,  or 
the  plots  of  the  fiction  writer. 

The  St.  Clair  Indians  of  whom  there  was  a 
goodly  number  at  this  camp-meeting,  had  been 
brought  to  Christianity  by  the  labours  of  Rev. 
James  Evans.  Of  his  apostolic  labours  at  that 
mission,  Rev.  Joseph  Stinson  said: 

50 


Teaching  the   Indians 

"In  1835  Mr.  Evans  was  appointed  to  the  St. 
Clair  Mission.  When  he  went  among  them, 
they  were  a  drunken,  idle,  ignorant,  degraded 
body  of  pagans.  During  Mr.  Evans'  residence 
among  them,  the  whole  tribe  embraced  Chris- 
tianity, and  began  to  attend  to  all  the  duties  of 
civilised  life.  They  became  total  abstainers,  and 
by  their  sobriety,  honesty  and  industry,  won 
the  respect  and  admiration  of  the  whites,  who 
lived  in  the  vicinity." 

Thus  was  Mr.  Evans  by  his  marvellous  suc- 
cesses, in  spite  of  much  opposition  and  many  dif- 
ficulties, showing  not  only  the  power  of  the  gos- 
pel to  save,  but  the  wondrous  abilities  with  which 
God  had  endowed  him  for  his  arduous  work. 


51 


IV 

INDIAN   ASSOCIATES 

The  Indian  Associates  of  Rev.  James  Evans — John  Sunday — 
His  early  life— His  story  of  his  Conversion — John  and  the 
Mormon  Preacher — John  Sunday's  plea  to  "  Mr.  Gold " — 
Peter  Jones — His  account  of  his  Conversion, 

In  the  study  of  a  great  general,  like  Napoleon, 
or  Wellington,  or  Washington,  or  Grant,  we  are 
always  interested  in  knowing  something  of  the 
brave  men  by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  and 
who  aided  materially  in  the  accomplishment  of 
the  great  work  for  which  the  world  calls  him 
famous.  If  this  is  true  in  reference  to  such  men, 
it  should  also  hold  good  in  reference  to  the  study 
of  the  co-workers  and  companions  of  such  men  as 
James  Evans,  who  with  him,  in  the  space  of  but 
a  few  years,  beheld  some  of  the  greatest  moral 
victories  the  young  country  has  ever  seen.  They 
were  bloodless  triumphs,  but  they  brought 
honour  to  Christ,  the  great  Captain,  and  blessings 
to  hundreds  of  once  degraded  superstitious 
pagans,  who  were  won  to  truth  and  righteous- 
ness in  these  decisive  encounters. 

Of  the  gallant  band  who  did  brave  loyal  service 
for  Christ,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  write.  Not  only 
was  there  the  goodly  company  of  white  mis- 
sionaries, whose  names  the  church  will  not  let 
die,  but  there  was  also  a  well-tried  company 
53 


Indian  Associates 

of  native  Indian  converts,  wiio  after  showing, 
through  years  of  faithful  living,  the  genuineness 
of  the  transforming  power  of  the  grace  of  God, 
were  educated  and  utilised  by  the  church,  to  be 
helpers  in  the  conflict  between  the  powers  of 
good  and  evil.  They  were  not  only  men  of  un- 
blemished lives,  but  some  of  them  possessed 
abilities  of  such  high  order,  that  vast  congrega- 
tions of  educated  white  people  listened  to  their 
addresses  with  admiration  and  profit.  They 
preached  Christ,  and  Him  crucified,  with  power 
and  success.  The  plaudits  of  the  multitudes  did 
not  spoil  them.  Simple,  lovable,  Christlike  men 
they  were,  and  with  gladness  they  rejoiced  that 
they  were  counted  worthy  to  preach  the  glad  tid- 
ings of  a  Saviour's  love,  wherever  and  whenever 
the  door  was  open  for  the  blessed  truth. 

They  were  a  goodly  company,  and  with  them 
James  Evans,  as  well  as  William  Case,  and  other 
white  toilers  rejoiced  to  be  associated.  We  can- 
not here  mention  them  all.  Some  however  must 
have  place,  as  they  played  a  prominent  part  in 
the  work  at  the  same  time  as  Mr.  Evans,  and 
shared  with  him  not  only  the  toils  and  privations 
of  the  work,  but  also  its  triumphs  and  victories. 

Of  Peter  Jones,  whose  Indian  name  was 
"  Kahkawayquonaby,"  (waving  eagle  plumes,) 
we  will  later  on  have  something  to  say,  and 
will  have  him  give  us  in  his  own  language,  the 
story  of  his  clear  and  scriptural  conversion.  Of 
Henry  Steinhauer  we  have  spoken.  Peter  Jacobs 
also  fills  his  niche  in  the  same  gallery. 

53 


John  Sunday 

Of  John  Sunday  it  is  a  pleasure  to  write. 
When  I  was  but  a  boy  I  knew  him  well.  He 
was  ever  a  welcome  guest  at  my  father's  house, 
and  we  children  listened  with  delight  to  his 
quaint  stories,  and  the  old  legends  of  his  people. 
He  was  perhaps  the  homeliest  Indian  in  the  land. 
Yet  when  his  face  lit  up,  and  his  eyes  began  to 
twinkle,  everything  else  was  forgotten  but  his 
inimitable  talk.  He  could  charm  and  fascinate 
an  audience,  playing  upon  their  feelings  like  a 
master  musician  on  an  organ.  The  halls  and 
churches  were  crowded  wherever  it  was  known 
that  John  Sunday  was  to  speak.  In  his  wonder- 
ful conversion,  we  see  the  power  of  the  gospel 
to  uplift  and  save.  John  Sunday  was  as  he  tells 
us,  once  a  poor  drunken  Missusagas  Indian.  He 
was  born  in  one  of  the  closing  years  of  last 
century.  Until  well  on  in  manhood,  he  wan- 
dered about  with  his  wild  pagan  relatives,  mak- 
ing a  precarious  livelihood  by  fishing  and  hunt- 
ing. 

It  is  a  sad  reflection  upon  a  civilised  govern- 
ment, that  for  long  years  they  paid  so  little  atten- 
tion to  the  interests  of  the  Indians.  Miserable 
white  men  destitute  of  all  morality  or  honesty, 
preyed  upon  them  and  by  the  introduction  of  the 
wretched  fire-water,  made  sad  havoc  among 
them.  All  the  good  characteristics  and  habits  of 
the  red  men  were  about  destroyed  by  these  mis- 
erable creatures.  Their  industrious  habits  were 
lost.  Immorality  took  the  place  of  the  chaste 
regulations  of  the  primitive  days,  and  the  once 

54 


Indian  Associates 

noble  Indian,  who  would  have  considered  it  a 
disgrace  to  stoop  to  beg,  became  reduced  so  low 
that  when  not  engaged  in  drunken  revelries, 
where  the  women  were  often  fearfully  maltreated, 
and  the  children  neglected  and  sometimes  killed, 
they  wandered  about  among  the  settlements  beg- 
ging for  something  to  keep  themselves  from 
starvation. 

Thus  for  years  lived  John  Sunday,  whose  Indian 
name  was  Shawundais.  Sometimes  he  roused 
himself  up  from  his  indolence  and  drunken  fits, 
and  went  on  some  hunting  excursions.  Here  he 
excelled,  for  he  had  all  the  cleverness  of  his  peo- 
ple in  this  respect.  Then  would  follow  a  long 
drunken  debauch. 

Associating  much  with  unprincipled  whites 
during  his  pagan  days,  he  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  broken  English,  which  when  he  became  a 
Christian,  was  so  improved  that  he  became  an 
effective  preacher  and  platform  speaker.  Still 
there  was  ever  to  the  end  of  his  days  a  broken 
quaintness  in  his  utterances,  that  while  not  ob- 
scuring the  meaning  of  his  addresses,  added  to 
their  effectiveness.  He  had  the  gift  of  mimicry 
in  a  marvellous  degree,  and  so  was  ever  the  cen- 
tre of  a  crowd  when  he  began  to  exercise  this 
gift.  Yet  although  he  often  made  his  white  as- 
sociates, as  well  as  his  Indian  comrades,  laugh  at 
his  drolleries,  he  used  to  tell  us  in  his  addresses 
of  the  gloomy  unhappy  hours  he  spent  when 
alone  in  his  wigwam.  He  would  blacken  his  face 
as  was  the  custom  of  his  tribe,  and  go  out  into 

55 


John  Sunday  in  Belleville 

the  darkest  places  of  the  forest,  and  there  fast 
for  days.  He  tried  to  get  comfort  in  his  dreams, 
and  longed  for  some  vision  to  come  and  satisfy 
his  mind  when  in  such  a  state  of  disquietude 
and  unhappiness.  But  no  comfort  ever  reached 
him. 

Of  his  conversion  and  how  it  was  brought 
about  we  leave  him  to  tell  in  his  own  quaint 
broken  English.  He  has  given  it  in  answer  to  the 
request  of  an  honoured  minister. 

"  Brother  Scott  want  me  that  I  shall  write  my 
conviction  about  nine  years  ago.  First  is,  we  had 
camped  at  Mr.  James  Howard's  place  one  morning. 
1  go  to  Mr.  Howard  to  get  some  whisky,  so  I 
did  get  it,  some.  After  I  took  it — that  fire-water 
— 1  feel  very  happy.  By  and  by  James  Farmer, 
he  says  to  me,  '  Do  you  want  go  see  them  In- 
dians at  Belleville.?  They  want  see  all  Indians.' 
1  say  to  him,  '  Why  they  want  see  Indians  for?' 
He  says  to  me,  '  Them  are  preachers  talk  about 
God.'  So  I  went  home  to  my  wigwam  to  tell 
others;  and  we  took  some  our  blankets; — we 
hire  with  them,  Mr.  Howard  with  his  team  to 
take  us  at  Belleville.  We  got  there  about  nine 
o'clock.  We  have  no  chance  to  go  in  the  meet- 
ing-house, so  we  went  to  the  wood  pile;  so  we 
sit  there  all  day  in  the  wood  pile,  until  about  five 
o'clock  in  the  evening.  By  and  by  them  came 
out  from  meeting-house,  so  we  went  to  them, 
and  shake  hands  with  them.  About  seven  o'clock 
in  the  evening  went  to  meeting.  I  want  to  hear 
them  very  much,  what  they  will  say  to  us.     By 

56 


Indian  Associates 

and  by  one  of  them  rose  up  talk  to  us,  he  begin 
talk  about  God  and  soul  and  body; — he  says  this, 
— '  All  mankind  is  only  two  ways  we  have  got  to 
go  when  we  come  to  die;  one  is  broad  way,  and 
other  is  narrow  way.  All  the  wicked  white  men, 
and  wicked  Indians  and  drunkards  shall  go  there; 
but  the  good  white  people  shall  go  the  narrow 
way:  but  if  the  Indians  also  become  good,  and 
serve  the  Lord,  they  can  go  in  that  narrow  way.' 
Then  now  I  begin  think  myself;  I  begin  feel  bad 
in  my  heart.  This  is  I  think,  I  am  one,  I  am  one 
to  go  in  that  broad  way,  because  I  had  hard  drink 
last  night.  My  father  and  my  mother  had  taught 
this  ever  since  when  I  was  a  little  boy — 'all  the 
Indians  shall  go  where  sun  set,  but  the  white 
people  shall  go  in  the  Ishpeming.'  That  I  had 
trouble  in  my  heart.  Next  morning  again  they 
had  talk  to  us;  so  they  went  off  from  us.  As 
soon  as  they  went  off,  some  them  Indians  says, 
'  Let  us  get  some  more  whisky  to  drink  it. 
What  them  men  say  unto  us,  we  shall  not  do  so; 
we  must  do  our  own  way; '  so  they  went  to  get 
more  whisky.  So  I  take  it  little  with  them;  and 
immediately  after  I  had  drunk  it,  1  went  home, — 
me  and  Moses.  Is  about  seven  miles  to  our 
house.  All  way  along  the  road  I  thinking  about 
these  two  ways.  Four  nights  I  do  not  sleep 
m.uch.  On  Saturday  we  all  went  to  Belleville 
again.  There  I  saw  brother  Case.  He  says  to 
me,  'How  you  like  Peter  Jones'  talk?'  I  say 
unto  him,  '  Four  nights  I  do  not  sleep  much.' 
And  he  began  to  talk  about  religion  of  Jesus 

-    57 


His  Quaint  Testimony 

Christ.  O,  I  feel  very  bad  again; — I  thought  this, 
I  am  one  of  devil  his  men  because  1  so  wicked. 
On  next  Monday  we  all  went  home  again.  That 
night  I  thought  1  would  try  pray;  this  is  first  I 
ever  did  intend  to  pray.  I  do  not  know  how  to 
pray  my  heart  is  too  hard,  I  cannot  say  but  few 
words;  I  say  this,  'O  Lord,  I  am  wicked,  I  am 
wicked  man,  take  me  out  from  that  everlasting 
fire  and  dark  place.'  Next  morning  I  went  in  the 
woods  to  pray; — no  peace  in  my  heart  yet.  By 
and  by  1  went  to  other  Indians  to  tell  them  about 
what  them  men  had  said  unto  us  at  Belleville. 
So  I  went  home  again.  By  and  by  we  went  to 
cross  the  bay  on  Sahgegwin  Island.  So  Indians 
come  there  on  island.  By  and  by  we  begin  have 
prayer-meeting  in  the  evening,  and  in  the  morn- 
ing. I  talk  with  them  at  all  time.  I  had  boy 
about  six  years  old:  by  and  by  he  got  sick  and 
died.  I  felt  very  bad.  I  thought  this  I  better  not 
stop  to  pray  to  God; — I  went  to  Belleville  to  all 
them  Methodist  men  to  come  on  Sahgegwin 
Island  to  pray  for  us.  I  ask  one  of  them  Metho- 
dist men  for  glass  of  beer,  to  comfort  in  my 
heart.  That  man  say  to  me,  '  Beer  is  not  good 
for  you;  better  for  you  to  have  good  spirit  in 
your  heart.'  None  them  they  do  not  want  to 
come  on  our  wigwam.  So  I  went  home  with- 
out glass  of  beer.  So  we  have  pray  meeting. 
None  of  us  had  religion  yet.  By  and  by  I  went 
to  quarterly  meeting  at  Mr.  Ketcheson.  I  saw 
one  man  and  one  woman  shouting;  I  thought 
they  were  drunk.     I  thought  this  they  cannot  be 

58 


Indian  Associates 

drunk,  because  is  them  Christian; — must  be 
something  in  them.  Brother  Belton  he  preached 
that  day;  he  says  this,  '  If  any  man  be  great  sin- 
ner, Lord  will  forgive  him,  if  only  believe  in  Him.' 
I  thought  this  if  I  do  well  maybe  God  will  for- 
give me.  About  one  week  after  this  another 
quarterly  meeting  at  Seventown,  Mr.  Dinge's 
barn,  in  the  morning  they  had  lovefeast;  they 
give  each  other  little  bread  and  water;  they  give 
us  some  too,  that  piece  of  bread  and  water.  I 
do  not  know  what  they  do  it  for.  When  I  took 
it,  the  bread  had  stop  in  my  throat  and  choke 
me.  O  how  I  feel  in  my  heart:  I  feel  like  this — 
if  I  in  under  the  water.  In  afternoon  we  went  to 
pray  meeting  in  the  Old  House,  about  five  o'clock, 
and  Peter  Jones  says  to  us,  '  Let  us  lift  up  our 
hearts  to  God.'  I  look  at  him,  I  do  not  under- 
stand him.  I  think  this,  if  I  do  this — take  my 
heart  out  of  my  body — I  shall  be  died:  however 
I  kneel  down  to  pray  to  God.  I  do  not  know 
what  to  say  to  ask  for  religion;  1  only  say  this — 
'  O  Keshmunedo,  shahnanemeshim.  O  Lord, 
have  mercy  on  me  poor  sinner.'  By  and  by  the 
good  Lord  He  pour  His  spirit  upon  my  poor 
wretched  heart,  then  I  shout  and  happy  in  my 
heart.  I  feel  very  light,  and  after  pray  meeting  I 
went  to  tell  Peter  Jones  how  I  feel  in  my  heart. 
I  say  to  him  this,  '  I  feel  something  in  my  heart.' 
Peter  says  to  me,  '  Lord  bless  you  now.'  O  how 
glad  in  my  heart.  I  look  around  and  look  over 
other  side  a  bay— and  look  up — and  look  in  the 
woods — the  same  is  everything  new  to  me.     I 

59 


Silencing  a  Mormon 

hope  I  got  religion  tiiat  day.  I  tiianlc  the  Great 
Spirit  what  He  done  for  me.  I  want  to  be  like 
this  which  built  his  house  upon  a  rock.     Amen." 

Happy  John  Sunday.  He  says:  "  I  hope  I  got 
religion  that  day."  None  who  knew  him  ever 
doubted  it,  so  marvellous  was  the  transforma- 
tion. The  poor  drunken  Indian  was  so  changed 
that  saint  and  sinner  could  not  help  but  notice  it. 
At  once  he  left  off  his  old  habits  and  sins,  and 
was  emphatically  a  new  man  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Intoxicating  drink  never  passed  his  lips  again. 
All  of  his  abilities  were  now  fully  consecrated  to 
the  service  of  Christ. 

in  after  years  he  became  a  good  preacher.  In 
addressing  audiences  his  pathos  and  humour 
were  simply  irresistible.  He  was  thoroughly 
original  and  he  could  also  be  sarcastic  and  pun- 
gent. We  give  some  samples  of  his  peculiar 
methods  of  dealing  with  his  opponents  and  others. 

Long  years  ago  when  the  Mormon  excitement 
prevailed  both  in  the  New  England  States,  and  in 
Canada,  a  Mormon  preacher  came  to  the  Bay  of 
Quinte  county,  in  the  Province  of  Ontario,  and 
held  a  series  of  meetings  with  the  object  of  mak- 
ing proselytes  for  the  western  Mormon  country. 
Shortly  before  this  a  number  of  Indians  had  be- 
come Christians,  and  hearing  of  these  Mormon 
services,  but  not  knowing  their  character,  some 
of  them  attended.  Great  was  their  sorrow  at 
hearing  the  Bible,  which  they  had  learned  to  love, 
so  belittled,  and  despised,  and  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon, which  he  said  had  been  dug  up  out  of  the 

60 


Indian  Associates 

ground,  being  extolled  above  it.  When  the 
Mormon  had  finished  his  discourse  about  the 
book,  he  gave  permission  for  any  of  the  con- 
gregation to  say  anything  they  desired  about 
what  he  had  said.  All  sat  still,  and  as  no  v^hite 
was  found  brave  enough  to  get  up  and  defend 
the  old  book,  John  Sunday  at  length  arose,  and 
asked  if  an  Indian  might  speak.  The  desired 
permission  having  been  given  by  the  Mormon, 
the  pious  man  replied  as  follows: 

"A  great  many  winters  ago,  the  Great  Spirit 
gave  His  good  book,  the  Bible,  to  the  white  man 
over  the  great  waters.  He  took  it  and  read  it, 
and  it  made  his  heart  all  over  glad.  By  and  by 
white  man  came  over  to  this  country,  and 
brought  the  good  book  with  him.  He  gave  it 
to  poor  Indian.  He  hear  it,  and  understand 
it,  and  it  make  his  heart  very  glad  too.  But 
when  the  Great  Spirit  gave  His  good  book  to  the 
white  man,  the  evil  spirit,  the  Muche-Maneto, 
try  to  make  a  book  too,  and  he  try  to  make  it 
like  the  Great  Spirit  made  His,  but  he  could  not, 
and  then  he  got  so  ashamed  of  it,  that  he  go  in 
the  woods,  and  dig  a  hole  in  the  ground,  and 
there  he  hide  his  book.  After  lying  there  for 
many  winters,  Joe  Smith  go  and  dig  it  up.  This 
is  the  book  this  preacher  has  been  talking  about. 
I  hold  fast  to  the  good  old  Bible,  which  has  made 
my  heart  so  happy.  I  will  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  devil's  book." 

This  quaint  speech  ended  that  Mormon's  career 
in  that  neighbourhood.  Would  that  in  other 
61 


Appeal  to  Mr.  Gold 

lands  and  places  there  had  risen  up  true  men  like 
this  brave  John  Sunday,  to  silence  and  stamp  out 
the  pestilent  impostors,  who  have  done  so  much 
evil  on  this  American  continent. 

At  a  great  missionary  meeting  held  in  the  old 
Adelaide  Street  Church,  Toronto,  among  the 
speakers  on  the  platform  with  John  Sunday,  was 
a  doctor  of  divinity,  who  had,  on  this  his  first 
public  appearance  after  getting  his  D.  D.,  to  re- 
ceive a  good  deal  of  friendly  banter  from  his 
brethren,  especially  as  the  recipient  of  the  honour 
had  never  had  other  than  an  exceedingly  limited 
education.  John  Sunday  listened  in  his  quiet 
way,  to  all  that  was  said,  and  when  called  on  to 
speak,  convulsed  the  audience  by  saying  in  his 
own  droll  way,  "Mr.  Chairman,  I  never  went  to 
school  but  two  weeks  in  my  life,  if  1  had  gone 
four  weeks  1  would  have  had  D.  D.  too."  When 
the  laughter  had  subsided,  he  gave  a  most  ad- 
mirable address,  appealing  to  the  vast  audience 
for  his  poor  Indian  brethren  in  their  wretched 
wigwams.  His  closing  sentences  of  appeal  for 
financial  help,  were  characteristically  quaint  and 
original.  Here  are  his  words: 
-f-  "There  is  a  gentleman  I  suppose  now  in  this 
house.  He  is  a  very  fine  gentleman,  but  he  is 
very,  very  modest.  He  does  not  like  to  show 
himself.  I  do  not  know  how  long  it  is  now 
since  1  saw  him,  he  comes  out  so  little.  1  am 
very  much  afraid  he  sleeps  a  great  deal  of  his 
time,  when  he  ought  to  be  going  about  doing 
good.  His  name  is  Mr.  Gold.  Mr.  Gold,  are  you 
62 


Indian  Associates 

here  to-night?  Or  are  you  in  your  iron  chest? 
Come  out,  Mr.  Gold!  Come  out  and  help  us  to 
do  this  great  work  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature.  Ah,  Mr.  Gold,  you  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  yourself,  to  sleep  so  much  in  your  iron  chest! 
Look  at  your  white  brother,  Mr.  Silver;  he  does 
a  great  deal  of  good  in  the  world,  while  you  are 
sleeping.  Come  out,  Mr.  Gold,  from  your  iron 
chest,  and  fly  around  like  your  active  brother, 
Mr.  Silver.  And  then  Mr.  Gold  just  think  of 
your  active  little  brother,  Mr.  Copper.  Why  he 
is  everywhere.  He  is  flying  about  doing  all  the 
good  he  can.  Be  active  like  him!  Come  out, 
Mr.  Gold!  Do  come  and  help  us  in  this  good 
work,  and  if  you  really  cannot  come  yourself, 
well  do  the  next  best  thing  you  can — that  is,  send 
us  your  shirt,  that  is,  a  bank-note." 

Another  of  the  noble  band  of  the  devoted  work- 
ers among  the  Indians  of  Canada  was  Peter  Jones, 
who  was  himself  one  of  the  first-fruits  of  mis- 
sionary toil  among  the  red  men  of  the  wilderness. 
He  was  born  in  the  woods,  in  the  year  1813,  not 
far  from  the  place  where  the  city  of  Hamilton 
now  stands.  For  ten  years  he  wandered  about 
with  his  heathen  mother,  in  company  with  other 
members  of  his  own  tribe.  He  knew  nothing  of 
God  except  the  vague  pagan  notions  of  the  Great 
Spirit,  which  he  learned  from  the  utterances  of 
the  medicine-men,  and  others  of  his  people.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen,  after  he  had  been  for  a  time  at 
school  and  under  some  Christian  teaching,  he  was 
baptised.  His  own  testimony  was,  that  this  out- 
63 


Peter  Jones 

ward  ceremony  brought  him  no  peace  or  spiritual 
comfort.  It  did,  however,  impose  some  restraint 
upon  his  conduct.  It  was  not  until  about  three 
years  after  his  baptism,  which  had  taken  place  in 
a  Mohawk  church,  on  the  Grand  River,  that  he 
was,  as  he  tells  us,  truly  converted  to  God.  His 
own  account  of  this  is  very  interesting. 

Those  were  the  days  of  the  great  camp-meet- 
ings in  the  new  country,  which  were  marvellously 
owned  of  God  in  the  conversion  of  hundreds  of 
souls.  Peter  Jones  has  given  us  a  full  account  of 
his  visit  to  the  camp-meeting,  where  he  and  his 
sister  Mary  were  both  enabled  to  renounce  their 
old  sinful  lives,  and  give  themselves  fully  to  God. 
Out  of  curiosity  they  had  gone  to  see  how  the 
white  people  worshipped  the  Great  Spirit  in  the 
wilderness.     His  own  words  are  as  follows: 

"On  arriving  at  the  encampment  I  was  imme- 
diately impressed  with  the  solemnity  of  the  peo- 
ple, several  of  whom  were  engaged  in  singing 
and  prayer.  Some  strange  feeling  came  over  my 
mind  and  I  was  led  to  believe  that  the  Supreme 
Being  was  in  the  midst  of  the  people,  who  were 
engaged  in  worshipping  Him.  The  encampment 
contained  about  two  acres,  enclosed  by  a  bush 
fence.  The  tents  were  pitched  within  this  circle; 
all  the  underbrush  was  taken  away,  while  the 
large  trees  were  left  standing  and  formed  a  beau- 
tiful shade.  There  were  three  gates  leading  into 
the  encampment.  During  the  night  the  whole 
place  was  illumined  with  fire-stands,  which  had 
a  very  imposing  appearance,  among  the  branches 
64 


Indian  Associates 

and  leaves  of  the  various  trees.  The  people  came 
in  their  waggons,  from  various  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, bringing  their  sons  and  daughters  with  them, 
for  the  purpose  of  presenting  them  to  the  Lord. 
I  should  judge  that  there  were  about  a  thousand 
persons  present.  The  Rev.  William  Case,  the 
presiding  elder,  had  the  general  oversight  of  the 
encampment,  and  the  religious  services.  There 
were  a  number  of  ministers  present,  who  alter- 
nately delivered  powerful  discourses  to  the  listen- 
ing multitude.  After  each  sermon,  a  prayer- 
meeting  was  held,  in  which  anyone  was  at  lib- 
erty to  exhort  the  penitents,  and  unite  in  prayer 
for  the  divine  blessing.  On  the  Sabbath,  the  third 
of  June,  there  was  a  vast  concourse  of  people, 
several  sermons  were  preached,  and  prayer-meet- 
ings were  held  during  the  intervals.  By  this  time 
I  began  to  feel  very  sick  in  my  heart,  but  I  did 
not  make  my  feelings  known.  Some  of  the  ser- 
mons deeply  impressed  my  mind;  I  understood 
a  good  deal  of  what  was  said ;  I  thought  the  black 
coats  understood  all  that  was  in  my  heart,  and 
that  I  was  the  person  to  whom  they  were  speak- 
ing. The  burden  on  my  soul  began  to  increase, 
and  my  heart  said :  '  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ? ' 
I  saw  myself  '  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and  in  the 
bond  of  iniquity.'  The  more  i  understood  the 
plan  of  salvation,  the  more  I  was  convinced  of 
the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  felt  my 
need  of  its  blessings.  In  spite  of  my  old  Indian 
heart,  tears  flowed  down  my  cheeks  at  the  re- 
membrance of  my  sins.     1  saw  many  of  the  white 

65 


The  Sceptical  Indian  Brother 

people  powerfully  awakened,  and  heard  them 
cry  aloud  for  mercy;  while  others  stood  and 
gazed,  and  some  even  laughed.  My  elder  brother 
John  was  at  that  time  studying  the  art  of  survey- 
ing at  Hamilton,  He  came  to  the  meeting,  on 
the  Sabbath,  but  appeared  quite  indifferent  about 
religion;  so  much  so,  that  I  reproved  him  for 
speaking  of  these  people,  and  told  him  I  believed 
they  were  sincere — that  they  were  the  true  wor- 
shippers of  the  Great  Spirit.  '  O, '  said  he,  '  I  see, 
you  will  yet  become  a  Methodist! '  The  meeting 
continued  all  Monday,  and  several  discourses 
were  delivered  from  the  stand.  My  convictions 
became  more  deep  and  powerful  during  the 
preaching:  I  wept  much;  this,  however,  I  en- 
deavoured to  conceal  by  holding  down  my  head 
behind  the  shoulders  of  the  people.  1  felt  anxious 
that  no  one  might  see  me  weeping  like  an  old 
woman,  as  all  my  countrymen  say  that  weeping 
is  a  sign  of  weakness,  which  is  beneath  the  dig- 
nity of  an  Indian  brave.  In  the  afternoon  of  this 
day,  my  sorrow  and  anguish  of  soul  greatly  in- 
creased; I  felt  as  if  I  should  sink  down  into  hell 
for  my  sins;  which  I  now  saw  to  be  very  many, 
and  exceedingly  offensive  to  the  Great  Spirit.  I 
was  fully  convinced  that  if  I  did  not  find  mercy 
from  the  Lord  Jesus,  of  whom  I  heard  so  much, 
I  certainly  would  be  lost  forever.  I  thought  if  I 
only  could  get  the  good  people  to  pray  for  me  at 
their  prayer-meeting,  1  should  soon  find  relief  to 
my  mind,  but  1  had  not  sufificient  courage  to  make 
my  desires  known.     Oh!  what  a  mercy  it  was 

G6 


Indian  Associates 

that  Christ  did  not  forsake  me  when  my  heart 
was  so  slow  to  acknowledge  Him  as  my  Lord  and 
Saviour.  Toward  evening,  I  retired  into  the  soli- 
tary wilderness  to  try  to  pray  to  the  Great  Spirit. 
I  knelt  down  by  the  side  of  a  fallen  tree — the 
rustling  of  the  leaves  over  my  head  made  me  un- 
easy. I  retired  further  back  into  the  woods,  and 
there  wrestled  with  God  in  prayer.  I  resolved  to 
go  back  to  the  camp  and  get  the  people  of  God 
to  pray  with  me;  but  when  I  got  to  the  meeting 
my  fearful  heart  again  began  to  hesitate.  I  stood 
by  the  side  of  a  tree,  considering  what  I  must  do 
— whether  I  should  give  up  seeking  the  Lord  or 
not.  It  was  now  about  dusk,  and  while  I  was 
halting  between  two  opinions,  a  good  old  man 
named  Reynolds  came  up  to  me  and  said — '  Do 
you  wish  to  obtain  religion  and  serve  the  Lord.?' 
I  replied  'Yes!'  He  then  said — '  Do  you  desire 
the  people  of  God  to  pray  for  you  ?'  1  told  him 
that  was  what  I  desired.  He  then  led  me  into 
the  prayer-meeting.  I  fell  upon  my  knees  and 
began  as  well  as  1  could  to  call  upon  the  name  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  old  man  prayed  for 
me  and  exhorted  me  to  believe  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  to  trust  in  the  atonement  of  Him  who  gave 
Himself  a  ransom  for  all — for  Indians  as  well  as 
white  people.  Several  of  the  ministers  prayed 
for  me.  When  I  first  began  to  pray,  my  heart 
was  soft  and  tender,  and  I  shed  many  tears ;  but, 
strange  to  say,  some  time  after,  my  heart  got  as 
hard  as  a  stone.  I  tried  to  look  up,  but  the 
heavens  seemed  like  brass.     I  then  began  to  say 

67 


"Arise,  Peter" 

to  myself,  there  is  no  mercy  for  poor  Indians:  I 
felt  myself  an  outcast,  a  sinner  bound  for  hell. 
About  midnight,  I  got  so  fatigued  and  discour- 
aged that  I  retired  from  the  prayer-meeting,  and 
went  to  our  tent  where  1  immediately  fell  asleep. 
I  know  not  how  long  I  had  slept,  when  I  was 
awakened,  by  the  Rev.  Edmund  Stoney  and  the 
Rev.  George  Ferguson,  who  having  missed  meat 
the  prayer-meeting,  came  with  a  light  to  search 
for  me.  Mr.  Stoney  said  to  me,  '  Arise,  Peter, 
and  go  with  us  to  the  prayer-meeting  and  get 
your  soul  converted;  your  sister  Mary  has  already 
obtained  the  spirit  of  adoption,  and  you  must  also 
seek  the  same  blessing.'  When  I  heard  that  my 
sister  was  converted,  and  hifd  found  peace,  not 
knowing  before  that  she  was  seeking  the  Lord,  I 
sprung  up  and  went  with  the  good  men,  deter- 
mined that  if  there  was  still  mercy  left  for  me,  I 
would  seek  until  I  found  it.  On  arriving  at  the 
prayer-meeting,  I  saw  my  sister  apparently  as 
happy  as  she  could  be.  She  came  to  me,  and  be- 
gan to  weep  over  me,  and  exhorted  me  to  give 
my  heart  to  God,  and  told  me  how  she  had  found 
the  Lord.  Her  words  came  with  power  to  my 
sinking  heart,  and  I  fell  upon  my  knees  and  called 
upon  God  for  mercy.  My  sister  and  others  prayed 
for  me,  especially  Mr.  Stoney,  whose  zeal  for  my 
salvation  1  shall  never  forget.  At  the  dawning 
of  the  day  I  was  enabled  to  cast  myself  wholly 
on  the  Lord,  and  to  claim  an  interest  in  the  atoning 
blood  of  irjy  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  bore  my 
sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree;  when  I  received 

68 


Indian  Associates 

Him,  unspeakable  joy  filled  my  heart,  and  I  could 
say  'Abba,  Father.' 

"The  love  of  God  being  now  shed  abroad  in  my 
heart,  I  loved  Him  intensely,  and  praised  Him  in 
the  midst  of  the  people.  Everything  now  ap- 
peared to  me  in  a  new  light,  and  all  the  works  of 
God  seemed  to  unite  with  me  in  uttering  the 
praises  of  the  Lord.  There  was  a  time  when  I 
thought  the  white  man's  God  was  never  intended 
to  be  our  God;  that  the  white  man's  religion  was 
never  intended  to  be  the  red  man's  religion;  that 
the  Great  Spirit  gave  us  our  way  of  worship,  and 
that  it  would  be  wrong  to  put  away  that  mode 
of  worship,  and  take  to  the  white  man's  mode  of 
worship.  But  1  and  my  people  now  found  that 
there  is  but  one  true  religion,  and  that  the  true 
religion  is  the  religion  of  the  Bible.  Christianity 
has  found  us,  and  has  lifted  us  out  of  a  horrible 
pit  and  out  of  the  miry  clay;  it  has  placed  our 
feet  upon  a  rock;  it  has  established  our  goings, 
and  has  put  a  new  song  in  our  mouths,  even 
praise  unto  our  God." 

This  was  the  great  turning  event  in  the  life  of 
this  young  Indian.  Previous  to  this,  he  was  full 
of  the  superstitions  and  darkness  incident  to  his 
wild  pagan  life;  now,  however,  his  spirit  was 
emancipated  from  the  superstitions  of  the  past. 
At  once  began  a  genuine  thirst  for  knowledge. 
He  had  had  some  opportunities  for  study  and 
for  religious  worship,  but  up  to  the  time  of  his 
conversion,  which  he  has  so  well  described,  his 
mind  was  all  dark  as  regards  spiritual  things.     A 

69 


Dedicated  to  the   Thunder-God 

wonderful  change  had  come  to  him,  and  all  with 
whom  he  associated  were  quick  to  mark  the 
transformation. 

Peter  Jones  was  a  fine  looking  specimen  of  his 
race,  and  his  dark  and  lustrous  eyes  used  to  flash 
when  he  talked  of  the  power  and  freedom  of  his 
people  and  the  tameless  spirit  of  his  race  ere  the 
white  man  and  his  fire-water  came  among  them 
to  their  destruction.  His  Indian  name  was  Kah- 
kawayquonaby.  In  infancy  his  pagan  mother 
dedicated  him  to  the  thunder-god.  Immediately 
after  his  conversion  he  dedicated  himself  to  the 
one  living  and  true  God,  with  a  burning  desire  to 
be  a  blessing  in  preaching  the  gospel  to  his  poor 
degraded  fellow-countrymen.  For  many  years 
he  w'as  associated  with  Rev.  William  Case,  James 
Evans,  and  many  others  in  the  blessed  work  of 
striving  to  first  Christianise,  and  then  civilise  the 
long  neglected  red  children  of  the  forest.  He 
was  one  of  nature's  noblemen,  respected  in  every 
grade  of  society. 

On  his  visits  to  Great  Britain,  he  was  received 
in  audience  by  the  British  sovereign,  and  treated 
with  respect  by  all  classes.  He  married  an  Eng- 
lish lady  of  wealth  and  culture,  who  grandly 
aided  him  in  his  arduous  missionary  toils. 

His  name  and  deeds  are  worthy  to  be  em- 
balmed among  those,  who  like  James  Evans, 
have  done  grand  service  in  this  department  of 
missionary  toil,  and  we  gladly  give  him  this  place 
with  our  other  missionary  heroes. 


70 


V 

LAKE   SUPERIOR   MISSIONS 

James  Evans  and  Thomas  Hurlburt  appointed  to  Lake 
Superior — The  journey  in  a  row-boat — Letters  of  the  work — 
The  welcome — The  cannibal — Meeting  John  Sunday — Catch- 
ing Fish — Personal  religious  development — The  testimony  of 
the  young  lady  Missionary — Evans'  letter  to  Hurlburt — Evans 
requested  to  go  to  the  Northwest  Territories. 

In  1838  James  Evans  and  Thomas  Hurlburt 
were  appointed  to  missionary  work  in  the  Lake 
Superior  regions.  Mr.  Hurlburt  had  for  some 
years  devoted  himself  with  zeal  and  energy  ^to 
the  Indian  work.  From  1829  to  1833  he  was 
stationed  at  Muncey.  Then  at  Saugeen,  St.  Clair 
and  Walpole  Island  he  laboured  with  much  suc- 
cess for  the  uplifting  of  the  red  men.  He  gave 
much  time  and  labour  to  the  study  of  the  Indian 
tribes  and  mastery  of  their  languages,  and  even- 
tually became  quite  an  authority  on  Indian  eth- 
nology and  philology. 

With  James  Evans  he  was  appointed  to  begin 
missionary  work  among  the  thousands  of  Indians 
who  lived  in  the  vast  regions  to  the  north  of  Lake 
Superior.  With  their  own  open  row-boat  they 
seemed  to  have  made  the  long  dangerous  journey 
from  St.  Clair.  They  were  exposed  to  many 
dangers    and    perils    by    the    way.     From    Mr. 

71 


Exposed  to  Perils 

Evans'  letters  to  his  wife,  whom  he  left  in  a 
more  civilised  region  on  account  of  educational 
facilities  desired  for  their  daughter,  we  get  oc- 
casional glimpses  of  him  as  he  journeyed  to  his 
new  field.  Writing  from  the  mouth  of  the  river 
where  the  town  of  Goderich  now  stands,  and 
where  they  were  encamped  he  says: 

"  We  have  been  bungling  along  the  lake  shore 
as  far  as  this  place  during  the  last  four  days. 
We  have  all  been  preserved  in  good  health  and 
spirits  and  have  happened  no  more  serious  ac- 
cident than  just  getting  a  wetting,  and  cutting  a 
crack  across  the  back  of  my  hand.  However  I 
have  never  allowed  it  to  open  but  have  shut  it  up 
with  a  plaster.  We  had  well  nigh  come  back 
again  when  the  north  wind  took  us  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river.  However  we  rowed  on  and  soon 
had  a  fine  south  breeze,  which  carried  us  within 
a  few  miles  of  Kettle  Point,  where  we  ran  into  a 
small  creek,  after  scooping  out  the  sand  and 
forming  ourselves  a  channel  to  enter.  Here  we 
camped  very  comfortably  looking  southward,  my 
heart  going  pitter-patter;  indeed  it  has  been  rat- 
tling against  my  ribs  ever  since  I  started." 

After  thirteen  days  of  rowing  and  toiling  in 
their  little  boats  they  reached  a  place  which  he 
spells  Munedoowauning,  or  Devil's  Hole.  Here 
were  gathered  a  large  number  of  Indians,  and 
Mr.  Evans  and  his  co-labourers  at  once  began 
their  missionary  labours.  Mr.  Evans  writes: 
"We  immediately  commenced  endeavouring  to 
do  good,  by  preaching  the  blessed  gospel  of  sal- 

72 


Lake  Superior  Missions 

vation.  The  pagans  paid  good  attention  and 
seemed  favourably  impressed." 

The  following  letter  from  Mr.  Evans  written  in 
1 838  while  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior  en- 
gaged in  missionary  work  among  the  wandering 
tribes  who  lived  by  hunting  and  fishing,  will  not 
only  give  some  idea  of  the  character  of  the  work 
in  that  region,  but  will  also  show  what  were  the 
thoughts  and  aspirations  of  the  man  as  regards 
the  great  future,  and  what  might  yet  be  ac- 
complished. His  great  heart  took  in  the  whole 
continent,  and  every  poor  wandering  benighted 
Indian  from  the  bleak  ice-bound  shores  of  Labra- 
dor to  the  snow-clad  peaks  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, The  letter  was  written  to  a  high  official 
of  the  church. 

"As  we  are  daily  expecting  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company's  vessel  from  the  Sault,  and  understand 
that  she  is  to  return  thither  this  fall,  I  send  you  a 
few  remarks.  Having  written  you  since  our  ar- 
rival here,  I  need  say  nothing  respecting  our 
journey.  God  has  been  very  gracious  to  us. 
We  are,  as  we  have  been,  all  in  good  health  and 
endeavouring  according  to  our  humble  abilities  to 
advance  the  great  work  of  Christ  in  which  we 
have  the  honour  to  be  engaged. 

"I  shall  endeavour  to  give  you  a  condensed 
account  of  this  vast  field  for  missionary  exertion, 
with  our  prospects,  our  discouragements,  (or  to 
speak  more  properly,  our  difficulties,  for  I  hope 
we  shall  never  be  discouraged,)  our  hopes;  and 
offer    some    suggestions   respecting  our  future 

73 


From  Labrador  to  Rocky  Mountains 

operations  in  this  region  of  moral  darkness  and 
human  degradation. 

"The  sphere  of  labour  here  is  almost  bound- 
less, eastward  to  Labrador,  and  westward  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  thousands  of  poor  benighted 
heathen,  already  lifted  up  their  longing  eyes  to 
see  the  dawn  of  gospel  day,  are  scattered  as 
sheep  having  no  shepherd.  From  the  shores  of 
Lake  Superior,  northward  to  Hudson's  Bay,  and 
westward  to  Swan  River  above  Lake  Winnipeg, 
the  country  is  inhabited  by  the  Ojibway  or 
kindred  tribes,  who  generally  understand  the 
Ojibway  language,  as  the  Crees,  the  Muskegoes 
and  others.  Among  these  our  native  converts, 
who  are  now  lying  upon  their  oars  for  missionary 
work  to  do,  might  find  ample  scope  for  useful- 
ness in  spreading  the  savour  of  a  Saviour's  name. 
The  Indians,  I  am  informed,  are  universally  im- 
pressed with  the  belief  that  the  true  religion 
which  has  been  received  by  their  brothers  in 
Canada,  will  soon  reach  them  and  as  an  old  chief 
from  the  head  of  Lake  Superior  expressed  him- 
self, they  are  'stretching  their  eyes  to  see  some 
teacher  to  tell  them  the  way.'  This  much  for 
the  field  before  us. 

"As  regards  our  prospects,  we  have,  through 
the  Divine  blessing  found  favour  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  factors  and  as  they 
command  the  entire  influence  of  the  Indian  coun- 
try, our  prospects  as  far  as  they  are  concerned  are 
good.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  course  pur- 
sued by  these  men  toward  the  Indians  formerly, 

74 


Lake  Superior  Missions 

of  which  I  have  heard  much  not  very  creditable 
if  true,  I  can  only  say  that  all  I  have  seen  has 
tended  to  bias  my  mind  much  in  their  favour.  I 
find  that  spirituous  liquors  are  no  longer  sent 
into  this  country: — the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
discountenances,  at  least  as  far  as  we  have  gone, 
the  use  thereof  among  the  Indians.  The  aged, 
who  can  no  longer  hunt  or  provide  for  them- 
selves, are  fed  and  clothed  at  the  establishments, 
as  I  had  the  satisfaction  to  witness  a  few  days  ago 
at  this  post;  and,  in  my  opinion,  it  would  be  a 
happy  circumstance  were  their  territory  allowed 
to  embrace  the  whole  of  the  hunting  and  unim- 
provable coast  of  Lake  Superior  and  Lake  Huron 
even  to  Penetangwesheen,  as  thereby  those  vil- 
lainous fortune  hunters,  whose  sole  object  is  to 
make  wealth  at  all  hazards,  would  thereby  be 
prevented  from  succeeding  in  inducing  the  poor 
Indian  to  destroy  his  hunting  grounds,  to  destroy 
his  health  by  drinking,  reduce  his  posterity  to 
beggary  and  starvation,  and  his  tribe  to  extinction. 
The  interest  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  is  amal- 
gamated with  that  of  the  hunters  and  their  unre- 
mitted exertion,  where  they  have  the  exclusive 
right  of  trade,  has  been  and  still  is  to  preserve  the 
fur  animals  and  then  advance  at  once  the  interest 
of  the  company  and  the  happiness  of  the  In- 
dians. 

"  The  old  proverb  that '  Opposition  is  the  life  of 
trade '  will  not  hold  good  in  this  country,  for 
opposition  by  inducing  the  poor  improvident  and 
thoughtless  savage  to  destroy  his  fur-bearing  ani- 

75    . 


Hunting  the  Missionary 

mals  at  once,  is  the  death  of  trade,  as  the  once 
beautiful  and  excellent  hunting  country  of  Sau- 
geen  and  other  regions  now  impoverished  fully 
testify. 

"But  I  have  digressed  a  little,  and  must  return 
to  our  prospects; — The  Indians  are  everywhere 
anxious  to  be  instructed;  they  are  the  very  antip- 
odes of  those  residing  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  white  settlements.  There,  the  missionary 
must  hunt  them;  here,  they  hunt  him;  there,  he 
must  entreat  them  to  hear;  here,  they  will  urge 
him  to  speak.  Several  have  been  in  since  our  ar- 
rival in  order  to  obtain  their  fall  credit,  that  is, 
their  supply  of  clothing,  and  supplies  for  the 
winter.  They  are  all  not  only  ready  to  hear  the 
truth  but  they  manifest  the  greatest  willingness 
to  be  instructed.  In  several  instances  immedi- 
ately on  their  landing,  they  come  to  us  and  ex- 
press their  gratitude  for  our  having  come  to  in- 
struct them.  A  great  and  effectual  door  is  open 
before  us.  Seldom  have  we  had  family  worship 
in  the  evening  without  seeing  in  our  little  room 
all  the  Indians  in  the  place,  not  standing  around 
or  sitting  in  sullen  carelessness  or  contempt,  as  I 
have  often  witnessed  at  St.  Clair  and  other  mis- 
sions, but  all  devoutly  kneeling  with  us  at  the 
throne  of  the  heavenly  grace. 

"  Last  week  the  chief,  a  fine-looking  fellow,  ar- 
rived. He  came  to  us  and  expressed  his  satis- 
faction in  our  arrival.  He  remained  with  two  or 
three  others  who  accompanied  him  over  Sabbath. 
On  Monday  morning  he  told  us  that  all  his  peo- 

76 


Lake  Superior  Missions 

pie  would  rejoice  to  hear  of  our  arrival,  and  that 
they  would  do  anything  which  we  told  them, 
and  that  they  would  gladly  leave  their  children 
next  fall  when  they  went  to  hunt,  could  we  take 
and  intsruct  them  in  the  white  man's  wisdom. 

"We  have  present  at  one  of  our  services  a  man 
who  is  a  cannibal,  having  killed  and  in  company 
with  a  woman,  eaten  two  Frenchmen.  But  the 
gospel  can  make  him  a  man  and  a  Christian." 

Great  indeed  was  Mr.  Evans'  faith  in  the  power 
of  the  gospel,  when  to  this  man  guilty  of  such  a 
crime,  he  could  with  such  confidence  thus  preach 
the  good  news  of  pardon  and  salvation. 

Two  labourious  but  happy  weeks  were  spent 
here  preaching  and  teaching  out  of  the  good 
book,  A  number  of  the  Indians  were  baptised, 
and  then  the  missionaries  pushed  on,  still  to  the 
North.  At  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Mr.  Evans  writes, 
August  23d,  1838: 

"We  last  evening  about  five  o'clock,  reached 
this  place,  after  nine  days  of  hard  rowing  and 
one  day's  fair  sailing.  The  blessed  Lord  has 
been  very  gracious  to  us.  He  has  preserved  us 
from  all  evil,  and  our  temporal  wants  have  been 
bountifully  supplied.  In  fact  our  Munedoo  (God) 
provided  for  us  when  the  Munedoos  of  the 
pagans  let  them  hunger."  Mr.  Evans  adds:  "I 
could  particularise  several  instances  of  this,  but 
one  was  so  remarkable  that  it  cannot  be  over- 
looked. Soon  after  our  arrival  at  the  Munnedoo- 
lin,  John  Sunday  and  his  comrade  arrived,  and 
having  neither  money  nor  provisions,  they  turned 
77 


Letter  from  Sault  Ste.  Marie 

in  and  shared  with* us  in  true  Indian  style,  the 
blessings  which  we  were  enjoying.  Their  com- 
pany and  our  own  made  a  family  of  ten,  and  all 
these  mouths  soon  gave  our  flour  barrel  the  con- 
sumption. On  Saturday  our  flour  and  pork  ad- 
monished us  to  be  going  if  we  intended  to  have 
any  provisions  with  us." 

For  important  reasons  they  were  delayed  until 
"both  flour  and  pork  were  exhausted,  and  then 
they  had  to  try  and  get  some  fish  on  which  to 
live.  Getting  some  inflammable  birch  bark  to 
make  a  brilliant  light  and  taking  their  fishing 
spears  they  started  out  on  the  lake.  A  number 
of  pagan  Indians  went  immediately  before  them 
and  others  followed  behind  and  some  kept  close 
company  with  them.  Yet  strange  to  say  that 
while  some  of  the  canoes  of  those  wild  Indian 
fishermen  were  within  ten  yards  of  that  of  Mr. 
Evans,  not  one  of  those  men  caught  a  single  fish, 
although  they  fished  astern  and  ahead  of  him 
time  after  time.  Great  indeed  was  their  aston- 
ishment when  they  found  that  the  missionary 
had  thirty-five  splendid  fish.  Mr.  Evans'  explana- 
tion to  them  was  that  the  Lord  had  sent  them  be- 
fore his  canoe  just  when  he  was  able  to  secure 
them.  In  no  other  way  was  he  able  to  account 
for  it.  So  they  rejoiced,  for  with  flour  and  pork 
gone  they  would  have  been  in  rather  uncomfort- 
able circumstances  without  this  providential  sup- 
ply of  fish. 

After  spending  some  time  at  the  Sault,  they 
pushed  on  and  on,  stopping  at  points  where  In- 

78 


o 


z 

< 

> 

U4 


Lake  Superior  Missions 

dians  were  found,  and  preaching  to  them  as  op- 
portunity offered.  His  home  was  his  tent  in  the 
wilderness,  his  parishioners  were  wandering  In- 
dians, without  any  fixed  habitations.  His  duty 
and  joy  were  to  find  them  ia  their  forest  homes, 
and  tell  them  the  story  of  redeeming  love.  His 
feelings  and  desires  are  well  expressed  in  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  a  letter  which  he  wroteto 
his  aged  father  and  mother,  who  still  in  happy 
old  age  lived  at  Charlottville,  U.  C. : 

"You  may  wonder  why  and  how  I  wander 
about  our  vast  wilderness  and  I  can  assure  you  I 
am  not  less  a  subject  of  astonishment  to  myself. 
It  is  not  from  choice  for  no  man  loves  '  home 
sweet  home'  more  than  myself,  and  I  am  happy 
in  saying  that  no  man's  home  is  made  more  like 
home  by  those  I  love  than  is  my  own.  But  why 
do  I  talk  about  home  .^  I  have  none — 'a  poor 
wayfaring  man '  and  I  must  say,  I  thank  God  I 
can  say  it  — 

"  '  I  lodge  awhile  in  tents  below. 
And  gladly  wander  to  and  fro 
And  smile  at  toil  and  pain ! ' 

And  why.^  I  feel  an  answer  within  me.  Be- 
cause, '  Woe  is  me,  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel.'  " 
This  was  James  Evans.  A  man  passionately 
attached  to  his  home  and  loved  ones,  yet  cheer- 
fully forsaking  all  to  dwell  where,  at  the  close  of 
the  heavy  day's  toiling  on  the  waters,  night  over- 
took him,  camping  often  amidst  heavy  rains  or 
fierce  storms.     Often  with  only  a  fish  or  piece  of 

79 


Hopeful  Conditions 

fat  pork  on  which  to  dine,  yet  ever  bright  and 
cheerful  and  full  of  hope  as  to  the  future  triumphs 
of  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God.  As  the  result 
of  his  arduous  toil  he  was  able  later  on  to  write: 

"Our  prospects  of  success  in  prosecuting  this 
great  work,  to  which  the  church  has  appointed 
us,  are  at  present  flattering.  We  have  met  with 
many  discouragements  but  God  has  graciously 
cleared  away  the  mists  which  beclouded  our  at- 
mosphere, and  although  we  find  ourselves  in  a 
vast  region  of  moral  and  spiritual  darkness  and 
degradation,  yet  the  poor  benighted  heathen  are 
already  groping  about  to  find  someone  to  take 
them  by  the  hand  and  lead  them  to  the  light. 
The  Indians  in  this  region  are  anxious  to  be  in- 
structed; not,  as  before,  endeavouring  to  shun 
the  missionary  and  standing  aloof  from  his  so- 
ciety, but  seeking  as  diligently  for  us  as  we  for 
them," 

This  condition  of  affairs  among  the  Indians  of 
this  mission  was  most  hopeful  and  encouraging. 
When  the  missionary's  family  were  at  prayers 
the  people  would  often  come  to  see  them  that 
they  might  enjoy  the  services.  On  one  occasion, 
while  thus  toiling  to  sow  the  good  seed,  they 
were  encouraged  by  hearing  that  a  deputation  of 
Indians  was  coming  a  distance  of  six  or  seven 
hundred  miles  to  inquire  for  missionaries.  This 
was  good  news  indeed  and  at  it  Mr.  Evans  re- 
joiced and  exclaimed,  "The  Lord  is  indeed  going 
before  us  and  preparing  the  way  and  our  motto 
is  indeed  'Onward! '  " 

80 


Lake  Superior  Missions 

That  there  might  be  greater  progress  in  the 
work  these  two  devoted  men  separated;  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Hurlburt  taking  Fort  William  as  his 
mission  field,  while  James  Evans  toiled  at  other 
places  in  that  vast  country.  They  had  many  dis- 
couraging things  to  meet  with  but  they  found 
the  Indians  on  the  whole  quite  friendly.  What 
some  of  the  difficulties  were  which  the  mission- 
aries had  to  contend  with,  the  following  will 
show: 

"I  find  them  anxious  to  be  instructed  in  re- 
ligious matters  but  their  prejudices  are  so  much 
warped  in  favour  of  the  Catholics  that  it  is  difficult 
to  deal  with  them.  They  have  received  the  cru- 
cifix, beads  and  other  mummeries  from  the 
priest,  instead  of  the  gospel,  and  in  these  they 
trust  in  the  same  manner  as  they  formerly  did  in 
their  medicine  bags.  My  aim  in  every  discourse 
is  to  show  them,  as  they  can  bear,  what  the  na- 
ture of  true  religion  is.  I  am  much  pleased  with 
the  attention  paid  by  the  people  to  divine  things. 
Some  appear  to  be  quite  serious." 

There  is  an  important  matter  to  which  all  mis- 
sionaries find  it  well  to  give  good  heed,  and  that 
is,  constant  and  thorough  attention  to  their  own 
inner  spiritual  life.  Amidst  the  tension  and  ex- 
citement of  the  strange  surroundings  and  the  so- 
licitude and  anxiety  that  the  poor  superstitious 
people  about  them  should  speedily  accept  of 
Christianity,  there  is  a  danger  that  their  own  souls 
should  suffer  in  the  neglect  to  which  they  are  ex- 
posed in  their  longing  for  the  salvation  of  others. 
81 


Personal  Obligations 

"What  has  been  the  secret  of  your  marvellous 
success  in  India  ?  "  was  asked  not  long  ago  of  a 
fair,  delicate,  young  lady  missionary,  who  had 
been  most  marvellously  owned  of  God,  in  the 
conversion  of  many  hundreds  of  once  degraded, 
benighted  Telegus.  Her  answer  is  worthy  of  re- 
membrance of  all  who  are  toiling  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  at  home  as  well 
as  abroad.  Modestly  she  replied,  but  in  a  way 
that  thrilled  all  who  heard  her: 

"I  never  let  the  spiritual  wants  of  others  get 
between  my  own  soul's  personal  obligations  to 
Christ.  1  never  let  my  missionary  duties,  heavy 
and  many  though  they  are,  rob  me  of  the  time 
devoted  to  private  devotions  and  communion  with 
Christ  through  prayer  and  His  word.  I  found  it 
better  to  limit  my  time  for  meals  and  sleep,  rather 
than  the  time  consecrated  to  personal  communion 
with  God  alone.  If  a  sick  Hindoo  came  to  see 
me  when  at  prayer,  1  finished  my  devotions  as 
usual  and  ever  felt  that  I  was  so  much  the  better 
prepared  to  prescribe  more  wisely  for  the  disease; 
and  in  this  I  have  never  been  mistaken." 

These  are  words  worthy  of  being  pondered 
over  by  us  all.  In  these  active  days,  when  there 
is  so  much  fuss  and  flutter,  and  we  seem  to  be  so 
busy  amidst  the  multitudinous  duties  of  life  that 
come  to  us,  we  cannot  be  too  careful  in  guarding 
our  own  soul's  interest,  and  the  time  when  we 
can  go  apart  from  the  world  and  commune  alone 
with  Him  who  is  the  source  of  our  strength  and 
our  God. 

82 


Lake  Superior  Missions 

A  letter  from  Mr.  Evans  to  his  co-labourer,  Mr. 
Hurlburt,  gives  us  a  glimpse  into  his  inner  life 
and  shows  that  in  this  important  matter  he  was 
not  neglectful.  It  is  written  in  reply  to  one  in 
which  Mr.  Hurlburt  had  opened  his  own  soul  on 
this  subject. 

' '  Why  should  I  not  enjoy  the  same  privilege  ?  " 
that  was  of  writing  about  his  own  spiritual  life. 
"1  am  sure  it  will  be  agreeable  to  your  feelings. 
Well,  1  can  through  grace  say  that  I  am  sure  God 
has  deepened  His  blessed  work  in  my  own  soul 
since  I  arrived  here.  1  enjoy  great  peace  of  mind. 
My  intercourse  with  God  is  not  clouded  but  clear 
and  satisfactory.  I  am  endeavouring  to  seek 
after  more  of  the  mind  which  is  in  Christ.  The 
world  is  losing  its  charms.  I  would  just  as  soon 
be  buried  in  the  depths  and  wilds  as  to  be  in  the 
populous  city.  1  love  society  as  you  know;  but 
I  trust  that  God  knows  that  I  love  the  poor  be- 
nighted heathen  more;  and  heaven  is  just  as  near 
the  wilderness  as  Toronto.  I  have  no  home  but 
heaven,  and  I  desire  no  other,  but  hope  God  will 
enable  me  to  wander  about  these  dark  regions 
until  He  calls  me  home." 

In  this  spirit,  Mr.  Evans  toiled  on.  He  had 
many  difficulties,  much  opposition,  and  some 
success.  In  1839  he  was,  owing  to  the  disturbed 
state  of  the  country,  brought  back  to  civilisation. 
For  a  time  he  preached  in  the  town  of  Guelph 
with  great  power  and  acceptance.  He  showed 
by  his  powerful  sermons  that  his  talents  and  gifts 
were  many,  and  that  if  he  had  devoted  himself 
83 


Sent  to  Hudson's  Bay  Territory 

to  the  regular  work  of  the  ministry,  he  would 
have  taken  rank  as  one  of  the  greatest  preachers 
of  the  age.  These  few  months  in  Guelph  were 
his  last  ministerial  labours  in  Upper  Canada. 

In  March,  1840,  Mr.  Evans  received  word  that 
news  had  come  from  England  of  the  decision  to 
begin  missionary  work  among  the  Indians  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Territory,  and  that  he  was  requested 
to  join  and  be  the  leader  of  the  party  who  were 
coming  out  shortly  from  England,  to  proceed, 
via  Montreal,  to  those  remote  regions. 

The  following  is  the  official  intimation  of  the 
desire  to  establish  this  mission  by  the  English 
Wesleyan  Missionary  Society.  It  is  interesting 
at  times  to  note  the  beginnings  of  what  become 
great  things.  It  is  in  one  short  paragraph  in  the 
Wesleyan  Magazine  for  March,  1840: 

"North  America,  Hudson  Bay  Territory.  The 
Rev.  Messrs.  G.  Barnly,  W.  Mason  and  R.  T. 
Rundle  embarked  at  Liverpool  by  the  Sheridan 
for  New  York,  on  the  i6th  of  March,  on  their 
way  to  the  territory  of  the  Hon.  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  to  commence  missionary  operations 
among  the  settlers  and  native  tribes  of  that  vast 
region  of  North  America  under  the  protection, 
and  chiefly  at  the  expense  of  the  company, 
whose  proposals  to  the  society  have  been  of  the 
most  liberal  and  honourable  character." 


84 


VI 

THE  WORK   AND  THE  WORKMAN 

The  work  in  Red  River — Begun  in  1820 — The  Hudson's  Bay 
Company — Their  Posts — Diet  of  the  men — Indians  drifting 
Southward — Seeking  Religious  truth — Sending  Missionaries  to 
keep  the  hunters  in  the  woods — James  Evans  chosen — His 
work  at  St.  Clair  Mission — His  trip  to  New  York. 

In  1820  missionary  work  was  begun  in  the  Red 
River  settlement  by  the  Church  of  England  so- 
ciety. To  the  Rev.  John  West,  the  founder  of 
that  mission,  the  chief  said  in  an  address  on  the 
occasion  of  the  commencement  of  the  work: 

"  There  are  a  great  many  trees  to  be  cut  down 
and  roots  to  remove  before  the  path  will  be  made 
clear  to  walk  in." 

The  work,  however,  prospered  at  the  Red 
River,  not  many  miles  from  the  place  where  it 
enters  into  Lake  Winnipeg.  Here  has  long  flour- 
ished a  most  interesting  and  successful  mission. 
Here  for  many  years  the  venerable  Archdeacon 
Cowley  lived,  and  was  gladdened  by  the  sight  of 
a  prosperous  community  of  converted  and  civi- 
lised Indians  around  him.  To  other  regions  of  the 
vast  country,  to  the  north  and  west,  missions 
have  since  extended,  until  now  nearly  all  of  the 
people  have  heard  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation. 

For  over  two  centuries  the  great  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  have  been  trading  with  the  Indians. 

85 


The  Hudson's  Bay  Company 

Their  goods  brought  out  from  England  are  bar- 
tered for  furs.  York  Factory  on  the  Hudson's  Bay, 
and  Norway  House,  about  twenty  miles  north  of 
the  northern  end  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  were  two 
of  their  great  distributing  centres  for  goods  from 
the  interior  posts,  some  of  them  three  thousand 
miles  inland.  From  the  Indians  there  residing, 
they  expected  not  only  large  supplies  of  furs,  but 
in  addition  they  looked  to  them  to  furnish  large 
numbers  of  hardy  boatmen,  upon  whom  they 
could  rely  at  all  times  and  in  every  emergency. 
Such  were  the  exigencies  of  their  trade,  that  often 
numbers  of  Indian  boatmen  would  be  required  at 
very  short  notice,  to  start  off  on  some  adven- 
turous trip  that  would  perhaps  require  weeks  for 
its  performance.  The  result  was  that  it  was 
necessary  that  there  should  be  a  considerable 
number  of  Indians  within  reach  of  these  two 
great  trading  posts. 

In  those  high  latitudes  the  Indians  made  a  pre- 
carious livelihood  by  fishing  and  hunting.  Noth- 
ing in  the  way  of  agricultural  pursuits  was  ever 
undertaken.  Bread  and  vegetables,  as  articles  of 
food,  were  unknown  for  generations.  The  peo- 
ple lived  entirely  on  fish  and  game.  How  they 
subsisted  without  vegetables,  and  many  of  them 
without  salt,  is  one  of  those  things  that  we  leave 
for  the  curious  in  such  matters  to  investigate. 
Their  more  northern  neighbours,  the  Esquimaux, 
on  the  coast  of  Labrador  and  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
live  entirely  on  a  fish  or  fat  meat  diet,  but  they 
have  the  salt  waters  of  the  sea  around  them.  But 
86 


The  Work  and  the  Workman 

among  some  of  the  interior  Indian  tribes  far  away 
from  tlie  ocean  and  saline  springs,  salt  was  abso- 
lutely unknown. 

How  long  these  northern  tribes  dwelt  in  those 
high  latitudes  is  absolutely  unknown.  There  are 
no  reliable  traditions  on  the  matter,  and  while 
they  all  believe  that  their  forefathers  came  from 
a  land  beyond  the  setting  sun,  they  have  nothing 
that  is  at  all  to  be  depended  upon. 

For  some  years  before  the  establishment  of  the 
northern  missions  by  Mr.  Evans,  there  had  set  in 
a  drift  of  the  Indians  to  the  South.  At  first  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  officials  could  not  under- 
stand its  cause.  Among  their  conjectures  was 
that  it  was  to  get  to  a  warmer  country  where  the 
winters  were  not  so  long  and  cold.  This  reason, 
however,  as  well  as  several  others,  when  care- 
fully investigated,  proved  to  be  incorrect.  At 
length  it  dawned  upon  these  shrewd  gentlemen 
that  it  was  on  account  of  a  dissatisfaction  with 
the  old  pagan  religion,  and  a  desire  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  religion  of  the  Bible.  Vague 
rumours  had  reached  them  from  time  to  time,  by 
passing  adventurous  hunters  who  came  from  re- 
gions where  Christianity  had  been  proclaimed. 
These  rumours  of  this  great  religion  given  by  the 
Great  Spirit,  for  all  His  children  of  every  colour, 
had  been  talked  about  in  wigwams  and  at  camp- 
fires.  While  a  good  deal  that  was  true  about  it 
had  been  reported,  there  were  also,  on  the  other 
hand,  many  things  current  that  were  foolish  and 
absurd.     However  their  curiosity  had  been  ex- 

87 


Indians  Seeking  for  Teachers 

cited  and  their  religious  instincts  so  aroused,  that 
family  after  family  embarked  in  their  birch  canoes 
and  started  for  the  land  of  the  South  Wind,  in 
order  to  find  the  teacher,  and  the  Book. 

Some  thrilling  incidents  have  been  told  of  north- 
ern missionaries  being  visited  by  companies  of 
Indians,  coming  from  regions  still  more  remote 
to  get  the  true  report  of  the  story  of  the  Great 
Spirit  and  a  copy  of  His  book.  To  one  mission- 
ary a  number  of  Indians  thus  came  a  distance  of 
nine  hundred  miles.  They  had  kept  themselves 
alive  by  their  hunting  and  fishing  and  when  he 
told  them  of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  they 
begged  of  him  to  return  with  them  and  tell  the 
same  story  to  their  fathers  and  relatives  in  their 
wigwams  far  away. 

Thus  one  of  the  principal  reasons  why  the  great 
fur-trading  company  was  so  willing  and  solicitous 
for  the  establishment  of  missions  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  great  Dominion,  was  to  stop  the  drift 
of  the  Indians  from  their  rich  and  valuable  hunt- 
ing grounds,  where  they  were  none  too  numerous 
for  hunting  for  their  profit  the  rich  and  valuable 
furs  which  there  abounded,  as  well  as  to  serve, 
as  we  have  indicated,  as  trip-men  or  canoe-men 
as  needed  in  the  interchange  of  goods  and  furs 
between  the  remotely  situated  trading  posts.  So 
to  the  English  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society,  the 
head  officials  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  whose 
offices  are  in  London,  England,  applied  with  a 
requ&st  that  they  would  open  some  mission  sta- 
tions in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territories  among  the 


The  Work  and  the  Workman 

Indian  tribes.  This  request,  which  was  coupled 
with  the  offer  of  a  good  deal  of  material  aid,  and 
the  assurance  of  their  protection  and  good-will, 
was  at  once  accepted. 

Then  the  question  was,  where  can  we  find  a 
leader  for  such  an  important  movement.  Volun- 
teers were  found  among  the  consecrated  goodly 
young  ministers  who  were  willing  to  go  under 
the  guidance  of  an  experienced  head,  who  would 
be  able  to  wisely  lead  them  to  success  and  vic- 
tory. Earnestly  at  home  in  England,  did  they 
search  for  such  an  one,  but  they  found  him  not. 
Good  men  and  true  were  there  in  multitudes. 
Some  of  them  afterward  made  their  mark  and 
did  grand  service  for  the  Master  amidst  the  mis- 
sionary fields  of  toil  in  other  lands.  But  here 
was  a  peculiar  place  to  fill.  The  work  was  to  be 
among  red  Indians  about  whom  so  much  of  the 
romantic  still  lingered.  The  location  was  to  be 
in  the  heart  of  an  almost  unknown  continent, 
where  the  winters  were  long  and  fierce  and  cold; 
where  journeys,  longer  than  even  the  apostle 
Paul  undertook,  were  to  be  made;  where  the 
conveyance  in  summer  would  be  a  birch  canoe, 
and  in  winter  a  dog-sled;  where  the  bed  at  night 
would  often  be  only  a  granite  rock  amidst  pelt- 
ing storms,  or  in  winter  time,  a  hole  dug  in  the 
snowdrift,  and  the  temperature  so  low  that  the 
mercury  would  be  frozen  in  the  thermometer  for 
months.  To  get  a  man  as  leader  of  a  company 
of  missionaries  to  begin  such  a  work,  with  even  a 
fair  assurance  of  success,  was  indeed  no  easy  task. 


In  James  Evans  the  Workman  Found 

Fortunately  the  eyes  of  the  home  officials  of 
the  EngHsh  Wesleyan  Church  were  directed  to 
Canada,  and  at  once  it  was  felt  that  in  James 
Evans,  God,  and  His  church  had  the  man  for  the 
important  and  arduous  work.  How  James  Evans 
had  been  employing  his  time,  and  grandly  fitting 
himself  for  this  larger  field,  the  following  letter 
will  indicate.  It  is  a  sample  of  many,  showing 
not  only  his  activity  and  zeal  in  preaching  the 
gospel,  but  his  perseverance  in  the  study  of  the 
Indian  language  which  was  to  be  of  such  good 
service  to  him  in  years  to  come.  The  letter  was 
written  to  Rev.  Joseph  Stinson,  then  superintend- 
ent of  Indian  missions,  from  St.  Clair  Indian 
Mission,  where  James  Evans  was  then  stationed. 

"The  good  work  is  still  prospering.  I  bap- 
tised sixteen  last  Sabbath,  and  expect  to  baptise 
more  next  Lord's  day.  We  believe  the  net  is  on 
the  right  side  of  the  ship,  and  doubt  not  that  the 
Lord  will  yet,  at  this  mission,  give  us  the  hun- 
dred and  fifty  and  three.  Amen!  Last  Sunday, 
a  man  arrived  from  the  southwest  shore  of  Lake 
Huron,  whose  errand  was  to  seek  the  gospel;  nor 
was  it  for  himself  alone  he  was  engaged.  He 
informed  us  that  a  body  of  Indians  who  had 
heard  of  the  work  of  God  in  this  place,  had  as- 
sembled on  the  lake  shore  and  were  waiting  there 
for  instruction.  Some,  he  said,  were  determined 
to  become  Christians,  and  others  were  waiting  to 
hear  more  about  it  before  they  made  up  their 
minds.  Thomas  and  myself  expect  to  start  to- 
morrow to  see  them.     We   shall   return  before 

90 


The  Work  and  the  Workman 

Sunday,  and  bring  as  many  as  we  can  with  us. 
Pray  for  us!  There  are  also  about  sixty  or 
seventy  on  Walpole  Island,  thirty  miles  below  us 
on  the  St.  Clair,  who  express  a  willingness,  and 
some  an  anxiety,  to  hear  the  gospel;  we  shall  see 
these  as  early  as  possible.  Some  residing  at  Bear 
Creek  also  request  me  to  go  and  teach  them  the 
way  to  Ispheming  (heaven),  and,  say  they,  '  We 
will  walk  in  it.'  The  Black  River  Indians,  who 
were  anxious  last  fall  to  see  us,  and  some  of 
whom  visited  our  mission  and  attended  meeting 
twice,  will  soon  be  to  hear  us  again,  when  they 
return  from  the  sugar  bush.  We  expect  the  little 
cloud  will  spread  to  the  American  Indians,  and 
water  also  their  parched  ground.  It  is  very  de- 
sirable that  Brother  Sunday  should,  if  practicable, 
pay  us  a  visit  in  April  or  May,  nor  would  a  pop 
visit  satisfy  us.  The  uncultivated  ground  around 
us  would  find  him  good  employment  for  two  or 
three  weeks,  could  he  be  spared  so  long.  I  am 
confident  his  labours  at  present  would  be  greatly 
blessed,  'the  fields  are  white  to  harvest.'  I  am 
still  striving  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  Indian, 
but  I  make  so  little  proficiency  that  I,  at  times, 
almost  get  discouraged;  and  were  it  not  that  I 
have  resolved  to  make  '  Persevere  and  overcome ' 
my  motto,  I  should  give  it  up.  I  endeavoured 
last  Sunday  week  to  preach  in  Indian  for  the  first 
time,  (my  interpreter  being  absent),  and  for  once 
succeeded  in  preaching  a  short  sermon." 

That  he  was  also  preparing  himself,  although 
perhaps   unconscious   of  it,    to   rough   it  in  the 

91 


Poor  Yet  Rich 

wilds  of  the  north  land,  the  following  extract 
from  a  letter,  written  to  the  loved  ones  at  home, 
for  whom  he  had  the  greatest  affection,  will 
show.  He  had  been  very  busy  in  New  York  for 
some  time,  engaged  in  putting  several  much- 
needed  Indian  publications  which  he  had  trans- 
lated, through  the  press.  The  chief  route,  in 
those  days,  was  up  the  Hudson  River  and  Erie 
Canal,  then  by  boat  across  Lake  Ontario  to 
Toronto.  Nearly  out  of  money,  on  account  of 
his  heavy  printing  expenses,  and  resolved  not  to 
go  in  debt,  he  was  unable  to  travel  as  a  first, 
or  even  as  a  second-class  passenger.  But  his 
good  humour  and  vivacity  of  spirits  never  left 
him.     He  says: 

"According  to  my  resolution,  1  took  deck  pas- 
sage on  board  the  steamer  Buffalo,  and  slept 
three  nights  on  the  softest  plank  1  could  select. 
By  this  means  I  contrived  to  reach  Toronto  with- 
out having  to  stop  to  work  on  the  road.  On 
taking  my  passage  I  flattered  myself  that  I  should, 
in  my  great  blanket  coat,  pass  through  the  voy- 
age unrecognised,  and  that  consequently  my 
pride  would  not  be  wounded;  but  behold,  first 
came  Mr.  Orvis,  of  Black  River,  after  we  were 
on  the  way.  'How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Evans.?' 
Next  the  engineer  of  whom  1  had  knowledge 
asked;  'Elder,  are  you  going  to  Buffalo?'  And 
to  crown  all,  at  dinner  time,  a  boy,  who  used  to 
be  cabin  boy  on  board  the  Gatriat,  came  with; 
'Elder,  will  you  come  to  dinner.?' 

"1  had  the  satisfaction  of  saying,  '  O,  1  am  a 

92 


The  Work  and  the   Workman 

deck  passenger!'  At  Cleveland  there  came  on 
board  a  gentleman  residing  near  the  Credit,  who 
very  soon  recognised  me,  and  congratulated  him- 
self saying,  '  I  am  very  glad  to  find  that  1  shall 
have  some  company,'  and  when  the  bell  rang  for 
breakfast,  'Come,'  said  he,  'we  shall  lose  our 
seats.'  '1  am^  a  deck  passenger,'  said  I,  nor  did 
I  care  one  sou.  Thus  I  had  a  chance  of  doing 
penance,  and  I  hope  it  has  done  me  no  harm. 
Although  much  pain  of  mind  must  be  endured  in 
taking  deck  passage,  by  being  compelled  to  hear 
a  great  deal  of  profane  language,  yet  not  more 
than  would  have  to  be  endured  in  the  cabin, 
where  they  are  gambling  and  swearing  half  the 
night." 

Thus  wrote  James  Evans.  He  had  spent  his 
money  in  printing  portions  of  the  gospel,  and 
some  hymns  for  his  beloved  Indian  converts,  and 
now,  in  order  to  get  home,  he  sleeps  on  a  plank 
on  the  deck  of  an  old  style  steamer,  amidst  the 
profanity  of  the  roughs  there  huddled.  Nowa- 
days some  ministers,  and  even  returned  mission- 
aries, grumble  if  a  baby  cries,  or  a  sleeper  snores 
in  a  Pullman  car,  or  the  cuisine  of  a  palatial 
steamer  is  not  of  the  most  elaborate  and  fastidi- 
ous description.  Fancy  one  of  the  latter  descrip- 
tion, going  out  on  a  work  like  that  to  which 
James  Evans  gave  so  grandly,  some  of  the  best 
years  of  his  life. 


93 


VII 

PETER  JACOBS 

Peter  Jacobs — His  account  of  his  early  life — Catching  a 
bear — A  canoe  upset — Providential  Escape — Nearly  caught  in 
the  rapids — Shooting  a  sturgeon. 

One  of  the  young  Indian  converts  whom  the 
Rev.  James  Evans  carried  with  him  by  canoe 
from  Lac  La  Pluie  on  Lake  Superior  to  Norway 
House,  was  Peter  Jacobs.  He  was  for  many 
years  an  efficient  worker  among  his  red  country- 
men. Long  after  his  first  trip  to  Norway  House, 
he  visited  England,  where  he  addressed  large 
audiences  on  behalf  of  missions,  and  created  a 
good  deal  of  interest  in  and  sympathy  for  Indian 
mi-ssionary  work  in  Canada.  In  the  following 
narrative  we  let  him  speak  for  himself.  He  gives 
us  much  information  about  things  we  are  all 
anxious  to  know, 

"In  the  year  1824,  I  first  heard  the  gospel 
preached  by  the  Rev.  William  Case.  Before  that 
time  I  was  a  heathen  and  so  were  all  the  tribes  of 
Canada  West.  When  I  was  a  lad,  I  never  heard 
an  Indian  pray  as  Christiarfs  pray  to  the  Great 
Being.  Our  people  believed  in  the  existence  of 
a  Great  Being,  the  maker  of  all  things;  but  we 
thought  that  God  was  so  very  far  away  that  no 
human  voice  could  reach  Him:  and  indeed  we  all 

94 


< 


Peter  Jacobs 

believed  that  God  did  not  meddle  witli  the  affairs 
of  the  children  of  men. 

"  1,  as  well  as  the  people  of  my  tribe,  was  very 
cruel  and  wicked,  because  there  was  no  fear  of 
God  in  our  heart,  and  no  fear  of  punishment,  but 
every  man  settles  his  own  affairs  by  the  force  of 
his  tomahawk;  that  is  to  say  by  burying  his 
tomahawk  in  the  people's  heads  and  that  ends  all 
disputes.  The  Indians  made  their  women  do  all 
their  work  and  the  men  did  little  or  nothing  in 
the  heathen  life.  The  women  made  the  wig- 
wam, and  removed  it  when  necessary,  carrying 
it  on  their  backs;  and  they  chopped  the  wood 
and  carried  it  home  on  their  backs.  They 
brought  the  venison  home  when  the  deer  was 
killed  by  their  husbands;  they  dressed  the  skins 
for  their  husbands'  clothes  and  made  the  coats, 
shirts  and  moccasins,  which  completes  the  Indian 
dress; — all  was  done  by  the  women.  Notwith- 
standing the  poor  women  did  all  this,  they  got 
very  little  gratitude  from  their  heathen  husbands. 

"  I  will  just  relate  to  you  one  of  my  prayers  in 
heathen  life:  '  O  God  the  Sun,  I  beseech  you  to 
hear  my  prayer,  and  to  direct  my  steps  through 
the  woods  in  that  direction  where  the  deer  is 
feeding,  that  1  may  get  near  him,  shoot  him  and 
kill  him,  and  have  something  to  eat  thereby.' 
And  this  was  all  the  prayer  I  ever  made.  There 
is  nothing  about  soul  salvation  in  that  prayer. 
Some  pray  for  fish,  or  ducks,  or  rabbits,  or  what- 
ever they  wish  to  get. 

"At  length  the  missionary  came  and  began  to 

95 


God  Could  Understand  Ojibway 

preach  about  Christ  and  how  He  died  for  me; 
but  I  first  said,  '  No;  that  is  the  white  man's  God 
and  white  man's  religion;  and  that  God  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Indians.'  But  he 
assured  me  God  would  save  me  if  I  would  be- 
lieve on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  as  a  proof  he 
read  portions  of  Scripture  to  me  again  and  again. 
And  then  at  last  I  began  to  think  that  he  must  be 
right  and  1  must  be  wrong  because  he  read  the 
'Book  of  God'  (as  we  call  the  Bible)  to  me. 
Then  1  began  to  pray  for  the  first  time  in  Eng- 
lish, I  only  then  knew  a  few  words.  I  said  "  O 
God  be  merciful  to  me,  poor  Indian  boy,  great 
sinner.'  And  the  word  of  God  had  now  got 
hold  of  my  heart,  but  it  made  me  feel  very  sick 
in  my  heart.  I  went  to  bed  and  I  could  not  sleep 
for  my  thoughts  troubled  me  very  much.  Then 
I  would  pray  the  words  over  and,  over  again,  and 
got  more  and  more  sick  in  my  heart.  I  was  very 
sorry  that  God  could  not  understand  my  Ojib- 
way. I  thought  God  could  only  understand 
English.  And  when  1  was  praying  tears  came 
spontaneously  from  my  eyes,  and  I  could  not 
understand  this,  because  I  had  been  taught  from 
infancy  never  to  weep.  In  this  misery  I  passed 
three  or  four  weeks.  I  then  met  with  Peter 
Jones,  who  was  converted  a  few  months  before 
me:  and  to  my  surprise  I  heard  him  return 
thanks  at  meal  in  Ojibway,  This  was  quite 
enough  for  me.  I  now  saw  that  God  could  un- 
derstand me  in  my  Ojibway,  and  therefore  went 
far  into  the  woods,  and  prayed  in  the  Ojibway 
96 


Peter  Jacobs 

tongue  to  God  and  said:  '  O  God  I  was  so  igno- 
rant and  blind,  that  I  did  not  know  that  thou 
couldst  understand  my  Ojibway  tongue!  Now 
O  God,  I  beseech  Thee,  to  be  gracious  to  me.  a 
sinner!  Take  away  this  sickness  that  I  now  feel 
in  my  heart;  for  all  my  sins  lay  very  heavy  in 
my  heart.  Send  now  Thy  Holy  Spirit  to  come 
work  in  my  heart!  Let  the  blood  of  Christ  be 
now  applied  to  my  heart,  that  all  my  sins  may 
depart! ' 

"Though  I  could  now  pray  in  this  way  in  my 
native  tongue,  yet  God  did  not  seem  to  think  it 
best  to  hear  my  prayers  at  this  time,  but  left  me 
to  pass  many  miserable  nights.  And  I  cried  out 
again:  'O  God,  I  will  not  let  Thee  alone!  I 
shall  trouble  Thee  with  my  prayers  till  Thou  bless 
me!'  And  at  last  God  heard  my  prayers,  and 
He  took  away  this  heavy  sickness  of  heart;  but 
not  till  many  tears  had  been  shed.  And  when 
this  sickness  was  taken  away  from  my  heart, 
then  I  experienced  another  feeling  which  was 
'joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,'  which  was  indeed 
'full  of  glory.'  My  tongue  could  not  express 
the  joy  I  then  felt.  I  could  say  nothing  but 
'Happy,  happy!'  When  I  found  this  religion 
of  Christ  so  sweet  in  the  heart  of  man,  I  wanted 
all  my  people  then  to  know  of  the  great  and  true 
God;  but  they  all  said:  No;  that  I  was  wrong; 
that  1  had  been  to  the  white  man's  God  and  not 
the  Saviour  of  the  Indians.  But  I  said  that  God 
was  the  Saviour  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth; 
for  I  know  in  my  own  heart  what  He  has  done 

97 


Keeping  Store 

for  me;  and  what  He  has  done  for  me  He  can  do 
for  you.  And  they  began  to  pray  for  mercy,  and 
the  forgiveness  of  their  sins;  and  they  praying  in 
strong  faith,  many  of  them  were  converted;  and 
now  at  this  time  there  are  hundreds  that  are  con- 
verted among  the  North  American  Indians.  1 
was  the  first-fruits  of  the  missionary  labours  in 
my  tribe.  After  I  was  converted,  I  became  a 
prayer-leader  and  afterward,  when  the  Indians 
were  settled  in  houses,  I  became  a  class-leader, 
then  a  local  preacher. 

"  When  I  was  a  local  preacher  I  used  to  preach 
very  long,  very  hard,  and  very  often.  Once  I 
had  been  preaching  till  eleven  at  night  to  the  con- 
verted Indians  from  Lake  Simcoe,  and  was  just 
finishing  when  the  Indians  said:  'When  we 
were  heathen  we  never  gave  up  drinking  the  fire- 
water the  whole  night,  and  why  should  we  now 
go  to  bed  ?  Why  should  we  not  go  on  singing 
and  praising  God  till  daylight?'  1  was  young 
and  full  of  spirits;  and  though  1  had  just  done 
preaching,  1  began  again,  and  preached  a  great 
part  of  the  night. 

"After  their  conversion,  the  Indians  were  set- 
tling in  houses,  and  I  built  myself  a  large  house 
and  then  began  to  keep  a  store,  and  made  a  com- 
fortable living  by  selling  things;  but  I  wished  to 
be  a  missionary  to  the  tribes  of  Indians  who  had 
not  heard  the  gospel;  and  I  offered  myself  for  the 
mission-work,  and  was  accepted,  sold  off  my 
store,  and  went  as  a  missionary. 

"I  have  been  a  missionary  for  sixteen  years. 

98 


Peter  Jacobs 

Twelve  years  I  have  been  in  the  far  west,  among 
the  Indians  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territories,  hav- 
ing gone  out  with  Rev.  James  Evans  by  canoe 
from  Lac  La  Pluie  to  Norway  House  in  1840. 

"  In  the  year  1842  I  came  to  England  and  was 
ordained  in  the  Centenary  Hall;  and  in  1843  was 
sent  back  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territory.  I  cannot 
tell  you  about  all  the  tribes  of  Indians  that  I  have 
visited,  it  would  take  too  long.  I  have  preached 
to  many  poor  Indians  in  their  heathen  state  and 
they  have  become  Christians.  At  Norway  House 
we  formed  seven  classes  and  helped  the  Indians 
to  build  houses,  and  kept  school  for  children. 
This  mission  is  now  one  of  the  best  in  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Territory.  There  are  more  than  three 
hundred  hearers,  a  fine  chapel,  and  eighty  chil- 
dren in  the  school." 

Peter  Jacobs  remained,  as  this  narrative  tells  us, 
a  couple  of  years  with  Mr.  Evans  and  then  was 
sent  to  England  for  ordination.  On  his  return 
he  was  thus  able  to  more  effectually  aid  Mr. 
Evans  in  his  work,  which  had  become  so  exten- 
sive, that  he  had  to  avail  himself  of  the  assistance 
of  all  the  native  helpers,  who  had  gifts  and  graces 
that  commanded  the  respect  of  the  whites  and 
Indians.  Mr.  Evans  also  availed  himself  to  the 
knowledge  possessed  by  his  Indian  converts  of 
their  own,  and  other  native  languages,  and  dia- 
lects, to  aid  him  in  his  many  translations  of  hymns 
and  portions  of  the  Word  of  God. 

Mr.  Jacobs  also  travelled  extensively  in  the  pros- 
ecution of  the  good  work  among  his  country- 
99 


Attacking  a  Bear 

men.  He  had  many  adventures  and  some  most 
marvellous  escapes  from  death  by  drowning. 
These  we  will  let  him  tell  in  his  own  language, 
which  will  show  what  a  credit  he  was  to  the 
mission  schools  that  could  thus  take  and  trans- 
form into  the  Christian  gentleman  the  once  wild 
pagan  Indian  boy.  His  first  story  is  an  account 
of  how  he  and  his  two  travelling  companions  in 
a  canoe,  killed  a  bear. 

"The  afternoon  was  calm  and  beautiful;  and 
as  we  had  had  a  good  rest  and  were  appre- 
hensive of  head  winds,  we  pulled  all  that  night. 
At  sunrise  next  morning  we  attempted  to  land 
and  breakfast,  but  the  water  was  so  shoal  we 
could  not,  without  having  to  wade  a  distance. 
The  beach  was  of  bright  sand  and  the  sun  was 
about  two  hours  up,  when  I  saw  an  object  mov- 
ing on  the  shore.  It  appeared  to  be  a  man;  and 
as  we  neared  it,  it  appeared  to  make  gestures  to 
us.  We  were  wearied  and  hungry,  but  thinking 
the  stranger  was  in  danger  or  in  suffering,  we 
pulled  on  toward  him.  Judge  of  our  surprise 
when  we  found  him  to  be  an  enormous  bear. 
He  was  seated  on  his  hams,  and  what  we 
thought  his  gestures  wer-e  his  motions  in  raising 
himself  on  his  hind  legs  to  pull  berries  from  a 
high  bush,  and  with  his  paws  filled  sitting  down 
again.  Thus  he  continued  daintily  enjoying  his 
fresh  fruit  in  the  position  our  ladies'  lap-dogs 
are  taught  to  assume  when  asking  a  morsel  from 
their  mistresses.  On  we  pulled  and  forgot  our 
hunger  and  weariness.  The  bear  still  continued 
leo 


ca 


Peter  Jacobs 

breakfasting.  We  got  as  close  in  shore  as  the 
shoal  would  permit  and  John  taking  my  gun,  a 
double  barrel,  leaped  into  the  water  and  gained 
the  beach.  Some  dead  brushwood  lay  between 
John  and  the  bear.  He  now  discovered  us;  and 
John  not  seeing  him  for  the  dead  brush  ran  along 
the  beach  toward  him.  The  weariness  from 
pulling  all  night,  and  being  so  long  without 
breakfast,  and  the  reaction  produced  by  seeing 
the  bear,  probably  disturbed  my  presence  of 
mind,  for  1  remembered  now  that  the  gun  was 
loaded  with  heavy  duck-shot  only,  and  you 
might  as  well  meet  a  bear  with  peas.  John  was 
in  danger,  and  we  strained  at  our  paddles;  but  as 
the  bear  was  a  very  large  one,  and  we  had  no 
other  fire-arms  than  the  gun  John  had,  we  would 
have  been  but  poor  help  to  John  in  the  hug  of  a 
wounded  bear.  The  bear  was  at  the  other  side 
of  the  dry  brush  on  the  beach.  John  heard  the 
dry  branches  cracking  before  the  brute,  and 
dodged  into  a  hollow  under  a  thick  bush.  The 
bear  passed  the  dry  brush  and  was  coursing  along 
the  sand;  but  as  he  passed  by  where  John  lay, 
bang  went  the  gun.  The  bear  was  struck.  We 
saw  him  leap  through  the  smoke  on  to  the  very 
spot  where  we  saw  John  last.  We  held  our 
breath  but,  instead  of  the  cry  of  agony  we  ex- 
pected, bang,  went  the  gun  again!  John  is  not 
yet  caught!  Our  canoe  rushed  through  the  water. 
We  might  yet  be  in  time.  But  my  paddle  fell 
from  my  hand,  as  I  saw  John  pop  head  and 
shoulders  above  a  bush,  and  with  a  shout  point 

101 


On  Stormy  Lake  Winnipeg 

to  the  side  of  the  log  he  stood  upon.  'There  he 
lies — dead  enough ! '  We  were  indeed  thankful  to 
the  Preserver. 

"  We  took  about  half  the  bear  along  with  us,  all 
the  canoe  would  carry.  Here  1  learned  for  the 
first  time  how  to  preserve  meat  without  salt  for 
a  month,  and  have  it  then  good  and  fresh  as 
when  killed.  A  hole  was  dug  in  the  swamp 
about  two  and  a  half  feet  deep.  In  the  bottom 
of  this  a  few  dry  boughs  were  placed,  then  the 
rest  of  the  bear's  meat  was  wrapped  up  in  the 
skin  and  placed  in  this  hole.  All  was  now  care- 
fully covered  up  so  as  to  be  safe  from  the  sun 
and  air.  About  a  month  after  when  this  meat 
was  taken  up,  it  was  found  to  be  still  sweet  and 
good. 

"Thus  on  we  journeyed  day  after  day,  in  our 
birch  canoe.  Lake  Winnipeg  was  unusually 
wild  and  tempestuous;  sometimes  we  were  de- 
layed by  head  winds,  at  other  times  we  were 
nearly  swamped  in  the  great  waves  which  were 
like  those  of  the  ocean.  One  of  our  party  was 
kept  busy  all  the  time  bailing  out  water  with  our 
large  kettle.  Apprehensive  of  coming  frost  and 
ice,  we  were  perhaps  too  venturesome  in  our 
anxiety  to  make  a  quick  voyage.  This  is  one  of 
the  dangers  to  be  guarded  against  and  with  Mr. 
Evans,  who  was  a  man  of  such  dauntless  courage, 
we  were  in  perils  oft  as  in  our  frail  birch  canoe 
we  pushed  on  over  stormy  lakes  and  down  rapid 
rivers  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the  Indian  tribes  who 
had  never  heard  its  glorious  truths." 

102 


Peter  Jacobs 

The  following  account  of  the  upsetting  of  the 
birch  canoe  is  from  the  pen  of  Peter  Jacobs. 
The  sufferings  endured,  with  the  providential  es- 
cape of  the  occupants  of  the  frail  craft,  will  give 
some  idea  of  the  risks  run  by  the  heroic  men  who 
in  those  days  endeavoured,  and  not  in  vain,  to 
extend  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  in  those  deso- 
late regions. 

"During  the 6th  and  7th  of  September,  we  were 
wind-bound.  On  the  8th  the  wind  abated,  and 
we  again  put  out  on  the  lake.  The  waves  were 
high;  but  as  the  wind  had  gone  down  we 
thought  they  also  would  fall.  It  was  morning. 
We  had  not  yet  taken  breakfast,  and  were  about 
an  hour  and  a  half  from  our  encampment, 
doubling  a  point,  when  a  wave  struck  us  and 
half  filled  the  canoe.  We  ran  into  the  bay, 
bailed  out  and  again  turned  to  the  lake.  A  point 
lay  about  a  mile  and  a  half  ahead.  Round  this 
point  and  the  wind  would  be  almost  fair.  On 
we  pulled,  wet  and  cold.  How  uncertain  is  the 
future!  We  were  nearly  two  miles  from  shore 
when  a  wave  struck  us  and  over  we  went. 
When  I  rose  to  the  surface  1  found  the  canoe  bot- 
tom up  and  John  astride  on  its  stern.  I  struck 
for  the  stem  and  grasping  it  in  my  arms  hung 
on.  The  old  man,  my  bowsman,  hung  on  some- 
where about  midships.  He  had  the  worst  hold 
of  any  of  us,  and  from  his  being  more  frequently 
under  the  waves  than  John  or  1,  he  would  be  the 
first  to  give  out.  I  said  to  John,  '  We  die  now.' 
'Yes,'  John  replied,    'we  certainly  die  now.'     I 

103 


John's  Heroic  Rescue 

advised  the  men  not  to  attempt  swimming  to 
shore  as  the  water  was  so  cold  they  would  get 
faint  and  drown,  but  to  hold  on  to  the  canoe  and 
we  would  drift  ashore  sometime.  They  prom- 
ised to  do  so. 

"I  now  saw  that  the  boatman  was  getting  ex- 
hausted: his  efforts  to  resist  and  rise  with  the 
heave  of  the  wave  appeared  to  be  more  and  more 
feeble.  I  asked  him  if  he  were  prepared  to  meet 
his  God  ?  He  said :  '  I  have  prayed  to  Him  long, 
long  ago.'  He  was  ready  to  die.  Both  the  men 
were  good  Christians,  members  of  the  Norway 
House  mission.  The  old  man's  eyes  were  clos- 
ing, when  John  reached  forward  his  hand,  and 
taking  him  by  the  hair  at  the  risk  of  losing  his 
own  hold,  placed  the  old  man's  chin  upon  his 
knee  and  kept  it  there  thus  keeping  his  mouth 
out  of  the  water.  We  thought  that  the  old  man 
was  dead,  but  John,  a  hero,  would  not  let  his 
head  drop,  determined  if  we  should  get  to  the 
shore,  to  bury  his  companion  on  the  beach. 

"I  now  felt  myself  getting  weak,  and  that  all 
hope  was  over.  I  committed  my  soul  and  my 
family  to  God.  1  told  John  that  1  felt  I  was 
drowning,  and  that  he  must,  if  he  could,  save  his 
own  life.  He  replied  that  he  had  no  wish  to  live; 
that  if  we  were  drowned  that  he  would  drown 
too.  The  poor  fellow's  heart  was  like  to  burst, 
not  for  himself,  but  for  the  old  man  and  me. 
When  1  thought  of  home  and  the  wants  of  the 
work,  I  did  wish  to  live.  If  my  work  was  done 
I  would  die;  if  not  all  the  water  in  the  lake  could 
104 


Peter  Jacobs 

not  drown  me;  God's  will  be  done!  1  was  per- 
fectly resigned.  I  prayed;  and  as  1  prayed,  sud- 
denly the  hope  of  being  saved,  hitherto  lost,  filled 
my  mind.  I  felt  an  irresistible  impression  that 
we  would  not  drown  but  that  we  would  all  be 
saved.  Nothing  that  1  saw  had  occurred  to  cause 
this,  but  I  felt  assured  of  its  truth.  The  winds 
blew,  the  waves  heaved,  and  we,  like  floating 
leaves,  were  tossed  about  as  the  storm  willed. 
It  was  He  who  rules  the  winds,  the  waves  and 
the  hearts  and  strength  of  men — from  Him  did 
we  get  our  hope  and  our  strength.  I  felt  so  much 
revived  that  1  began  to  paddle  with  my  arm;  and 
just  as  the  waves  threw  a  paddle  almost  into 
John's  hand,  the  bowsman's  eyes  opened.  I  now 
felt  merry;  not  that  I  could  laugh,  but  very  very 
happy — thankfulness  to  God  being  the  uppermost 
feeling. 

"  We  neared  the  shore,  and  several  times  I  let 
my  feet  drop  to  sound  but  no  bottom.  Still  we 
neared  the  shore,  and  again  and  again  did  I  sound, 
and  at  last  found  the  bottom,  but  a  few  yards 
from  the  beach. 

"The  old  man  was  our  first  care — he  could  not 
walk  upright.  John  and  1  returned  to  save  the 
canoe  and  on  turning  it  up,  found  of  all  we  had 
only  my  bedding.  God  was  indeed  good  to  us 
in  this;  for  we  would  have  suffered  much  dur- 
ing the  night  from  cold  had  the  bedding  not 
been  restored  to  us.  We  knelt  down  on  the 
beach  and  returned  Him  thanks.  We  now  felt 
ourselves  so  much  exhausted  that  we  had  to  lay 

105 


A  Struggle  for  Life 

down  on  the  beach,  wet  and  cold  as  we  were, 
and  rest." 

The  following  narrow  escape  from  perishing 
in  the  rapids  of  Winnipeg  River  is  also  one  of 
Peter  Jacobs'  experiences.  The  Silver  Falls  is  one 
of  the  grandest  falls  in  Winnipeg  River.  From  a 
distance,  they  present  a  beautiful  white  appear- 
ance, caused  by  the  spray  from  which  they  ob- 
tained the  name  of  Silver  Falls.  The  river  where 
the  falls  are,  is  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
wide.  So  whatever  goes  down  these  falls  alive, 
goes  to  the  bottom  dead  enough. 

"I  had  six  voyagers  in  each  canoe.  In  coming 
down  the  river  toward  the  landing  of  the  portage, 
my  steersman  Sebe  (River)  very  foolishly  and 
carelessly  steered  the  canoe  so  that  we  went  too 
far  out,  and  were  drawn  quickly  down  by  the 
strong  current.  On  perceiving  the  danger,  the 
men  began  to  pull  with  great  force,  in  order  to 
reach  the  landing,  and  thus  save  themselves  from 
being  drawn  over  the  precipice  of  the  falls.  It 
was  a  struggle,  a  struggle  for  life!  Ah!  how  im- 
minent our  danger  was.  Were  we  to  be  ingulfed 
in  the  foaming  deep  ?  As  our  canoe  was  heavily 
laden,  it  refused  to  obey  us,  (so  to  speak,)  but 
was  inclined  to  go  over  the  precipice.  An  extra 
paddle  being  by  my  side,  I  picked  it  up  and  as- 
sisted the  men.  We  gained  inch  by  inch.  All 
this  time  the  landing  was  only  about  fifteen  feet 
from  us,  only  we  were  fifteen  feet  too  low  down. 
The  men  in  the  other  canoe  in  the  meantime  were 
looking  at  us,  anxious  on  our  account,  but  could 

106 


Peter  Jacobs 

not  render  us  assistance,  as  they  had  to  take  care 
of  their  own  canoe.  They  could  only  cry  out 
'Pull,  pull,  pull! '  At  last  we  reached  the  desired 
shore,  and  O,  how  glad  our  hearts  were  when 
we  found  ourselves  once  more  safe  on  land.  1 
looked  at  my  men;  their  faces  were  as  pale  as 
death.  The  other  crew  seeing  us  now  safe,  be- 
gan to  laugh  at  us,  and  to  say,  '  Your  faces  are  as 
white  as  a  sheet;  that  will  teach  you  to  be  a  little 
more  careful  next  time,  when  you  come  down  to 
the  landing.'  We  expected  this,  for  it  is  the  na- 
ture of  the  Indian  to  laugh  heartily  when  the 
greatest  danger  is  over.  My  men  tried  to  laugh, 
but  they  could  not,  they  were  too  much  fright- 
ened. It  was  half  an  hour  before  I  could  myself 
get  over  the  shock  I  had  sustained,  and  be  free 
from  my  nervous  feeling.  Now  if  we  had  had  a 
distance  of  ten  feet  more  to  go,  when  we  were 
pulling  away  to  reach  the  landing  our  canoe 
would  have  gone  down  and  have  been  crushed  to 
atoms,  and  we  would  have  never  trodden  dry 
land  alive.  I  was  thankful  to  Almighty  God  for 
our  escape  from  this  great  danger." 

The  following  incident  describes  the  method  of 
capturing  sturgeon,  which  are  much  used  by  the 
Indians  and  missionaries  as  food.  ' '  At  the  head  of 
the  rapids  is  a  small  rock  jutting  out  into  the 
water,  and  behind  the  rock  is  a  little  eddy.  In 
this  eddy  my  men,  as  they  walked  on  the  high 
rock,  many  feet  above  the  water,  espied  a  large 
sturgeon,  which  was  observed  at  one  time  to  re- 
main on  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  sometimes 

107 


Shooting  a  Sturgeon 

to  be  thrown  quite  above  the  surface,  by  the  mo- 
tion of  the  water  and  at  another  time  to  disappear. 
My  men  said  that  they  would  give  anything  for 
this  large  sturgeon.  To  catch  and  kill  it  was  im- 
possible, for  there  was  no  spear  in  our  posses- 
sion. But  the  men  still  looked  as  eagerly  at  it  as 
an  Englishman  would  have  looked,  had  there  been 
a  bag  of  gold  in  the  water.  "Come,  come," 
said  I  to  my  men,  "it  is  no  use  to  waste  more 
time  looking  at  it;  we  will  never  get  it;  it  has 
only  to  move  its  tail  once  and  then  it  is  out  of 
reach."  But  the  men  were  loath  to  come  away. 
At  last  one  of  them  said: 

"  I  will  try  one  experiment  if  you  will  let  me." 

"What  is  that?"  said  I. 

"  Let  me  have  your  double-barrelled  gun,"  said 
he,  ' '  and  1  will  put  a  ball  in  it,  and  will  hide  behind 
the  rock  yonder;  I  will  then  shoot  the  sturgeon 
on  the  head  when  it  comes  up  to  the  surface,  but 
let  another  man  go  down  and  stand  in  the  water 
up  to  his  knees  behind  another  point  of  rock 
close  by.  if  I  should  stun  the  sturgeon  by  firing 
at  it,  the  man  in  the  water  will  rush  toward  it 
and  drag  it  up." 

"  Here  is  my  gun,"  said  I  at  once,  "your  plan 
of  operation  is  an  excellent  one." 

So  he  took  the  gun  and,  after  loading  it,  he 
went  down  below  with  another  man,  to  put  his 
plan  into  execution.  The  rest  of  us  who  stood 
upon  a  rock  about  sixty  feet  nearly  perpendicu- 
lar, watched  the  two  men  below  us.  We  had 
quite  a  good  view.     Both  of  the  men  took  their 

108 


Peter  Jacobs 

posts  at  the  time  the  sturgeon  disappeared  under 
the  surface  of  the  water.  Every  five  minutes  the 
sturgeon  used  to  come  up.  Presently  it  rose  up 
finely  to  the  surface,  and  at  this  time  the  man 
with  the  gun  banged  away  at  it.  In  an  instant 
we  saw  the  under  part  of  the  sturgeon.  The 
other  Indian  in  the  meantime  who  was  within  a 
yard  and  a  half  of  the  spot,  sprang  at  the 
wounded  sturgeon  as  eagerly  as  the  fish  hawk 
after  its  prey.  He  seized  it  but  could  not  take  it 
up,  for  it  wanted  to  go  into  the  deep  water. 
The  other  man  at  this  time  put  down  the  gun, 
and  ran  to  the  aid  of  his  companion.  After  a  tug 
of  three  or  four  minutes,  they  brought  up  the 
sturgeon  high  and  dry,  to  the  joy  of  the  rest  of 
my  men.  The  ball  had  entered  the  back  of  the 
neck.  This  was  the  first  sturgeon  that  I  had  seen 
killed  with  a  bullet.  We  lost  no  time  in  clean- 
ing, cooking,  and  eating  it.  It  made  a  good 
dinner  for  my  twelve  men.  Some  remained  over 
and  above,  for  the  fish  weighed  from  forty-five 
to  fifty  pounds.  " 


109 


VIII 

FROM  OTTAWA   TO  NORWAY   HOUSE 

Letter  to  Ephraim  Evans — On  the  way  to  Norway  House — 
Mrs.  Evans — Mr.  Evans'  hospitality  and  cheerfulness — The 
Journey — To  Superior  by  boat — Then  by  canoe — The  fragile 
craft — Its  utility — Running  rapids — Portaging — Rev.  John 
Ryerson's  picture  of  a  thunderstorm — Rev.  R.  T.  Rundle  wel- 
comes them  to  Norway  House. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  to  his  be- 
loved brother,  the  Rev.  Ephraim  Evans,  who  was 
himself  at  this  time  a  successful  missionary,  and 
afterward  the  founder  of  the  Methodist  Missions 
in  British  Columbia  on  the  Pacific  coast,  will  give 
us  some  idea  of  James  Evans'  preparatory  move- 
ments, and  of  the  difficulties  and  hardships  of 
travel  in  those  early  days  of  this  country.  He 
had  expected  to  go  from  Montreal  in  the  regular 
Hudson's  Bay  Company's  canoes,  which  leave  just 
as  soon  as  the  ice  breaks  up  in  the  upper  rivers, 
and  it  is  at  all  safe  to  travel.  Mr.  Evans  writes 
from  on  board  a  steamer  on  the  Rideau  canal. 
May  1 2th,  1840: 

"I  reached  Montreal  on  the  24th  of  April,  eight 
days  earlier  than  mentioned  by  Dr.  Alder  and 
found  the  canoes  gone  the  day  before.  So  now 
I  am,  with  Mary  and  Eugenia  (wife  and  daugh- 
ter) on  my  way  to  Norway  House  on  Lake  Win- 
110 


From  Ottawa  to  Norway  House 

nipeg,  four  hundred  miles  from  the  Red  River 
colony, — Providence  orders  all  things  well. 

"I  shall  go  to  Fort  William  without  getting 
into  a  canoe.  Our  goods  have  gone  to  London, 
England,  to  be  sent  to  Hudson's  Bay,  where  they 
will  arrive  this  fall.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
have  engaged  to  furnish  our  missionaries  with 
everything  necessary  for  their  comfort  and  con- 
venience in  the  Indian  country,  including  canoes, 
provisions,  canoemen,  houses,  interpreters,  free 
of  all  charge;  and  we  have  letters  from  Governor 
Simpson  and  the  committee,  addresses  to  all  the 
gentlemen  in  their  districts  and  posts  in  North 
America — a  pretty  wide  range!  I  shall  see  the 
Pacific  yet,  God  willing,  as  one  of  the  young 
•men  goes  to  Rocky  Mountain  House,  and  my 
duty  is  to  visit  them  as  soon  as  possible! " 

There  is  much  in  that  letter  of  interest  and 
suggestiveness.  To  some  of  its  items,  we  will 
refer. 

Mary,  his  wife,  was  a  Miss  Mary  B.  Smith  of 
Lower  Canada,  with  whom  Mr.  Evans  became 
acquainted  when  he  was  teaching  school  in  that 
province.  With  the  impetuosity  of  his  energetic 
nature  he  carried  on  his  courtship,  and  as  the  at- 
tachment was  mutual,  they  were  married  when 
Mr.  Evans  was  but  little  over  twenty-two  years 
of  age.  They  were  both  poor  as  regards  this 
world's  goods,  but  they  were  rich  in  each  other's 
love;  and  so,  with  faith  in  God  and  in  them- 
selves, they  together  entered  into  life's  arena — 
well  equipped  for  the  conflict. 
Ill 


Happy,  Hearty,  Humble 

Mrs.  Evans  was  grandly  equipped  to  be  the 
wife  of  such  a  missionary  as  James  Evans.  She 
was  a  woman  of  fine  appearance,  beautiful  in 
figure,  and  with  a  sunny  countenance.  She  en- 
tered very  heartily  into  all  of  her  enthusiastic 
husband's  schemes,  and  bore  up  bravely  and  un- 
complainingly during  his  long  absences  from 
home,  on  his  eventful  journeys.  At  times  they 
were  almost  in  want,  and  had  to  practice  the 
most  rigid  economy  in  order  to  obtain  the  neces- 
saries of  life. 

Well  do  I  remember  when  a  boy  hearing  my 
father,  the  Rev.  William  Young,  tell  of  a  visit  to 
them  when  they  were  living  at  Rice  Lake,  where 
Mr.  Evans  was  then  teaching  in  the  Indian 
school. 

"Come  in,  Brother  Young,  come  in,"  said  the 
happy,  buoyant,  always  rejoicing  Mr.  Evans. 
"Come  in,  and  dine  with  us;  we  have  a  pan  of 
milk  and  a  loaf  of  bread.  The  Good  Book  says; 
'  his  bread  shall  be  given  him,  his  waters  shall  be 
sure: 'we  are  better  off  than  that,  for  we  have 
milk  instead  of  water." 

To  refuse  such  an  invitation,  given  with  such  a 
genuine  ring,  was  impossible,  and  so  my  father 
dined  with  them.  A  happier,  more  contented 
couple  of  young  people,  he  says  he  never  saw. 
With  good  appetites  they  ate  their  bread  and 
milk,  laughed  at  their  poverty,  and  spoke  hope- 
fully and  enthusiastically  about  their  work. 

This  was  the  woman  who  now,  after  seven- 
teen years  of  happy  life  in  civilisation,  was,  with 

112 


From  Ottawa  to  Norway  House 

their  only  daughter,  going  hopefully  and  cheer- 
fully with  him  to  the  far-away  wilderness  abode. 
We  thank  God  for  the  many  noble  brave  women 
who  have,  some  with  husbands,  and  some  un- 
married, gone  out  into  the  high  places  of  the 
field,  and  there  have  uncomplainingly  and  hero- 
ically lived  and  toiled  for  the  extension  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom.  What  the  church  owes 
to  her  noble  band  of  female  missionaries  and 
teachers,  has  never  yet  been  fully  realised.  We 
doubt  whether  it  ever  can  be.  Their  coolness 
and  bravery  in  trying  hours  quite  equals  that  of 
the  men.  Their  tact  and  skill,  their  patience  and 
endurance,  their  faith  and  belief  in  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  the  gospel,  easily  place  them  in  the 
front. 

Among  the  priceless  ones,  of  "the  elect  women  " 
of  the  Church,  was  Mrs.  James  Evans.  Here  we 
find  her  with  her  husband  and  daughter,  en  route 
for  their  most  important  and  trying,  and  alas, 
their  last  field  of  toil. 

Referring  to  the  young  missionaries  who  had 
been  sent  out  from  England  and  were  to  be  his 
fellow  workers  in  the  far  north,  he  writes  in  his 
usual  buoyant  and  kindly  style. 

"  I  met  one  of  the  young  men  from  England  in 
La  Chine,  a  fine  fellow.  The  other  good  boys 
had  gone.  They  are  all  young,  hearty,  talented 
men.  May  God  bless  them!  I  am  in  high  spirits 
and  expect  many  savages  to  be  converted  to  God. 
The  canoes  have  left,  thus  saving  me  fifteen  hun- 
dred miles  of  canoeing.     This  is  especially  ad- 

113 


Two  Young  Indians 

vantageous  as  Mary  and  Eugenia  are  accompany- 
ing me.  God  does  all  things  right.  I  am  deeply 
indebted  to  Him." 

The  fact  that  the  canoes  had  started  from  La 
Chine  several  days  earlier  than  was  anticipated, 
saved  Mr.  Evans  and  family  from  having  to 
travel  in  one,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ottawa 
River  to  Thunder  Bay  on  the  north  side  of  Lake 
Superior.  How  few  of  us  can  realise  the  hard- 
ships and  dangers  of  such  a  trip,  in  such  a  boat. 
Fifteen  hundred  miles  of  the  journey  of  about 
three  thousand  miles,  were  thus  to  be  made  by 
the  steamboats  of  those  days.  They  journeyed 
by  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  St.  Clair,  Lakes  Huron 
and  Superior,  to  Fort  William.  Here  they  be- 
gan their  canoe  travelling. 

Mr.  Evans  took  with  him  two  of  the  young 
Ojibway  converts,  who  had  already  given  signs 
of  usefulness  as  evangelists.  They  were  Henry 
Steinhauer  and  Peter  Jacobs.  As  we  have  made 
reference  to  them,  or  let  them  speak  for  them- 
selves elsewhere,  it  is  only  necessary  here  to  add 
that  they  were  admirably  fitted  for  their  work. 
Having  been  all  their  days  accustomed  to  the 
canoe,  they  were  of  great  service  in  the  present 
situation.  Mr.  Evans  himself  a  man  of  great 
physical  energy,  and  as  much  at  home  in  a  canoe 
as  an  Indian,  not  only  paddled  himself  a  great 
deal  of  the  time,  but  he  infused  his  own  energy 
into  all  associated  with  him.  Henry  Steinhauer 
and  Peter  Jacobs  were  of  great  assistance  on  the 
journey.  The  fact  of  their  both  being  skillful 
114 


3 
o 

I 

o 
z 
< 

U 

z 

o 


z 

< 
> 


From  Ottawa  to  Norway  House 

hunters  made  them  valuable  on  the  route.  Many 
a  fat  duck  and  other  savoury  bird  was  shot  by 
them,  and  added  much  to  the  bill  of  fare,  which 
in  general  was  none  too  tempting,  especially  to 
the  two  ladies  of  the  party. 

When  religious  services  were  held  among  the 
natives,  as  they  were  able  to  tarry  long  enough 
on  the  route  for  service,  these  two  talented  young 
Indians  added  much  to  the  interest  of  the  service, 
not  only  by  their  sweet  voices  in  song,  but  also 
by  their  simple  unaffected  testimony  to  the  bless- 
edness of  the  gospel  which  had  wrought  such 
changes  in  them,  and  among  many  of  their  coun- 
trymen. They  were  a  great  help  to  Mr.  Evans, 
and  a  benediction  to  the  degraded  Indians  among 
whom  they  laboured,  many  of  whom  they  had 
the  joy  of  seeing  accept  Christianity,  and  enter 
into  the  blessedness  which  it  confers  on  those 
who  fully  believe  it. 

For  many  years  Fort  William  was  a  place  of 
great  importance  in  the  fur  trade.  It  was  a  kind 
of  half-way  house  between  Montreal  and  the 
vast  interior.  From  La  Chine  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Ottawa,  there  came  during  the  months  of 
open  navigation  on  the  rivers  and  lakes,  the  great 
birch  bark  canoes  of  the  fur  traders.  These 
canoes,  some  of  them  of  large  dimensions,  were 
manned  by  Indians  of  various  tribes,  but  for 
many  years  the  famous  Iroquois  were  considered 
the  unrivalled  canoemen  on  those  marvellous  jour- 
neys. There  still  linger  old  men  who  talk  of 
those  matchless  crews  of  stalwart  Iroquois,  who 
115 


The  Light  Canoe 

under  the  stern  rule  of  Sir  George  Simpson, 
travelled  at  a  rate  that  seems  to  us  perfectly  in- 
credible. But  they  are  now  of  the  past.  The 
onward  march  of  civilisation  has  driven  them  far 
back  into  the  remote  regions,  where  the  shrill 
whistle  of  the  engine  on  land  and  water,  is  as  yet 
unheard. 

However,  in  Mr.  Evans'  time  they  were  the 
only  boats  in  existence  in  those  regions,  and  so 
from  Fort  William  to  Norway  House,  they  were 
obliged  to  travel  in  them.  Such  a  trip  is  not 
without  its  enjoyments  to  break  its  monotony 
and  to  offset  its  dangers.  The  canoes  are  made 
of  birch  bark;  the  form  and  symmetry  being 
given  to  them  by  the  thin  strips  of  cedar  or 
spruce  that  in  half-hoop-like  shapes,  are  placed 
inside. 

Frail  and  light  though  this  craft  may  seem,  yet 
under  the  guidance  of  those  accustomed  to  it, 
and  who  love  it  as  an  Arab  does  his  steed,  it  is  a 
safe  and  useful  boat.  In  a  land  where  the  rivers 
are  full  of  rapids  and  cataracts,  no  other  can  do 
the  work  that  it  can  accomplish.  Under  the 
skillful  guidance  of  experienced  canoemen,  it  can 
run  rapids  in  safety  that  would  submerge  any 
skiff.  Then  as  there  are  many  portages  to  be 
made,  the  canoe,  on  account  of  its  lightness,  can 
be  carried  on  the  heads  of  the  men  with  ease, 
while  a  heavy  boat  would  be  very  difficult  to 
transport  over  those  places  frequently  so  danger- 
ous and  precipitous,  that  the  footing  is  very  in- 
secure. 

116 


From  Ottawa  to  Norway  House 

Then  a  damaged  canoe  is  easily  mended.  The 
soft  supple  roots  of  the  spruce-tree,  and  a  lump 
of  gum,  and  fire,  are  the  requisites  to  mend  any 
ugly  tear  or  rent.  This  can  be  accomplished  very 
much  more  quickly  and  neatly  than  repairs  on 
the  skiff  of  the  white  man. 

Each  night  they  camped  when  the  day's  work 
was  done.  Sometimes  the  places  selected  were 
very  picturesque.  The  tent  was  quickly  pitched, 
the  log  fire  was  soon  blazing,  and  on  it  the 
kettles  were  speedily  boiling.  The  well-earned 
supper  was  much  enjoyed  by  the  hard  worked 
canoemen,  and  the  missionary  and  his  family. 
Such  travelling,  when  the  weather  is  agreeable, 
along  lakes  and  rivers,  where  the  air  although  at 
times  hot,  during  the  short  brilliant  summer,  is 
always  bracing,  is  very  enjoyable. 

True  to  his  mission,  Mr.  Evans  held  prayers 
with  the  canoemen  at  the  camp-fires,  and  from 
the  beginning  of  the  journey  endeavoured  to  ex- 
ercise over  them  an  influence  for  good.  Being  a 
good  singer,  and  now  quite  proficient  in  several 
Indian  dialects,  he  had  but  little  difficulty  in  mak- 
ing himself  understood. 

The  route  from  Fort  William  runs  in  a  north- 
west direction  through  an  almost  endless  variety 
of  rapid  rivers  and  picturesque  lakes.  For  a 
time  the  travellers  in  these  regions  have  to  work 
up  streams,  often  against  dangerous  rapids  and 
treacherous  currents.  This  continues  until  an 
actual  ascent  is  made  of  over  eight  hundred  feet, 
when  the  Savan  portage  is  reached.     Here  is  the 

117 


Running  the  Rapids 

height  of  land  between  Lakes  Superior  and 
Winnipeg.  The  aggregate  fall  of  waters  ere 
Winnipeg  is  reached,  is  estimated  at  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet.  From  Winnipeg  to  York 
Factory,  on  the  Hudson's  Bay,  the  fall  is  eight 
hundred  and  thirty  feet  more. 

Running  the  numerous  rapids  was  always  ex- 
citing work.  One  who  made  this  same  trip 
says:  "The  running  of  a  rapid  is  an  exciting 
thing.  Upon  nearing  the  head  of  a  strong  rapid 
the  men  make  every  possible  effort  to  urge  the 
boat  forward  faster  than  the  water  so  that  it  may 
steer  the  better.  The  bowsman  and  steersman 
stand  erect,  guiding  the  frail  bark  through  the 
smoother  places  in  the  current,  which  hisses  and 
foams  around  you,  as  if  eager  to  devour  you. 
Now  we  rush  with  rapid  speed  toward  a  rock 
against  which  the  waters  dash  with  fearful  fury, 
and  to  a  person  unaccustomed  to  such  scenes, 
you  appear  to  be  on  the  point  of  destruction,  but 
one  vigourous  stroke  of  the  paddle  from  the  bows- 
man  and  the  steersman,  sends  the  light  craft  at 
a  sharp  angle  from  the  impending  danger,  and 
away  you  plunge  again  over  the  surging  waters, 
sometimes  floating  for  a  minute  in  a  small  eddy, 
and  hovering  as  though  to  choose  your  path,  and 
then  again  plunging  through  the  windings  of  the 
stream,  till  having  passed  the  whole  in  safety, 
you  float  in  the  smooth  waters  below." 

Making  a  portage  to  which  such  prominence  is 
given,  was  done  as  follows:  As  far  as  it  was 
safe  to  paddle,  the  canoe  was  propelled,  until  the 

118 


From  Ottawa  to  Norway  House 

head  of  the  rapids  or  falls,  too  dangerous  to  run, 
was  reached.  Here  a  landing  was  made,  and 
after  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans  and  their  daughter  had 
stepped  ashore,  the  canoe  in  which  they  were  trav- 
elling was  speedily  emptied  of  its  cargo.  These 
canoes  differ  very  much  in  size.  Those  used  in 
this  long  journey  from  Thunder  Bay  to  Winnipeg 
are  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  feet  long.  They  are 
over  five  feet  wide  in  the  middle,  and  taper 
gradually  to  the  ends.  Their  depth  is  about  two 
feet  three  inches.  Although  only  made  as  we 
have  mentioned  of  birch  bark,  they  are  splendid 
boats  for  the  purpose.  The  one  in  which  Mr. 
Evans  travelled  probably  carried  twenty  hundred 
weight,  including  the  three  travellers  and  the  six 
voyageurs.  in  the  portage  two  men  would 
easily  carry  this  canoe  when  empty,  across  to  the 
smooth  water  beyond.  The  rest  of  the  crew 
quickly  made  bundles  of  the  cargo,  which  they 
carried  on  their  backs,  supported  by  straps  from 
their  foreheads.  The  gait  of  an  Indian  in  a  port- 
age is  neither  a  walk  nor  a  run.  It  is  simply  a 
jog-trot,  and  it  is  surprising  to  an  uninitiated  one, 
how  rapidly  they  can  get  over  the  ground. 
When  the  weather  was  pleasant,  crossing  a  port- 
age was  not  unwelcome  to  Mrs.  Evans  and  her 
daughter,  as  the  sitting  position  in  a  canoe  after 
a  time  becomes  very  tiresome  to  one,  unless  like 
an  Indian,  he  has  been  accustomed  to  it  all  his 
life.  So  the  pleasant  walk  among  the  balsam  and 
birch  trees,  where  picturesque  rocks  abounded, 
and  the  air  was  sweet  and  fragrant,  and  the  many 
119 


In  Nature's  Solitudes 

objects  in  the  wilderness  were  pleasant  to  the  ob- 
servant eye  and  ear,  was  at  times  enjoyable. 

Then  when  the  canoe  was  once  more  loaded, 
the  journey  was  resumed,  and  thus  the  days  flew 
by,  and  each  night  found  them  farther  and 
farther  away  in  the  northern  wilderness.  Down 
rivers,  and  through  lakes  where  at  times  the 
picturesque  islands  added  much  to  the  beauty 
of  the  landscape,  they  passed  along,  "in  perils 
oft "  at  times  by  treacherous  rapids  and  fearful 
thunderstorms.  Each  night  at  the  camp-fire 
they  sang  their  songs  of  thanksgiving,  and 
offered  up  their  prayers  of  gratitude  for  the  pre- 
serving care  that  had  been  their  portion  in  the 
wilderness. 

The  days  rolled  up  into  weeks,  and  still  they 
were  on  the  way.  The  beautiful  Lake  of  the 
Woods  is  passed,  and  then  down  the  rushing 
rapid  Winnipeg  River  do  they  safely  go  until  at 
Fort  Alexander  they  are  permitted  a  brief  rest  at 
the  trading  post  of  that  name  where  the  courteous 
officers  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  charge, 
showed  them  no  little  kindness.  But  although 
Indians  are  here  in  numbers,  and  most  attentively 
listen  to  the  sweet  gospel  story,  so  strangely  dif- 
ferent from  anything  ever  heard  before,  our 
party  must  still  push  on.  But  Mr.  Evans'  ob- 
servant eye  has  marked  the  place  as  a  desirable 
site  for  a  mission  station  in  years  to  come,  but 
for  the  present  he  is  unable  to  do  more  than  to  lov- 
ingly preach  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  and 
urge  its  acceptance  upon  those  poor  neglected 

120 


From  Ottawa  to  Norway  House 

souls.  Whites  and  Indians  listen  as  for  eternity, 
and  so  impressed  is  the  devoted  servant  of  the 
Lord  by  their  conduct,  that  he  promises  when 
possible  to  visit  them  if  life  is  spared,  and  help 
them  on  in  the  divine  life. 

With  canoemen  invigorated  by  the  needed 
rest,  and  fresh  supplies  obtained  from  the  large- 
hearted  gentleman  in  charge  of  the  post,  Mr.  Evans 
and  his  family  again  embark  in  their  canoe  for  the 
last  stage  of  their  long  journey.  Up  the  eastern 
shore  of  Lake  Winnipeg  they  have  to  travel  for 
a  number  of  days.  Winnipeg  is  an  Indian  word 
literally  meaning  "  the  sea."  The  Indians  gave  it 
this  name  on  account  of  its  great  size.  It  is 
about  three  hundred  miles  long,  and  is  subject  to 
sudden  storms.  Then  its  great  waves  rise  up 
like  ocean  billows.  Here  is  what  Rev.  John 
Ryerson  says  about  this  great  stormy  lake : 

"  Lake  Winnipeg  is  very  much  subject  to  winds 
and  storms,  which  many  times  rise  so  suddenly 
as  to  give  the  mariner  no  warning  of  their  ap- 
proach, until  like  a  giant  in  his  strength,  they  are 
upon  him.  Imagination  cannot  paint,  much  less 
describe,  the  sublimity  and  grandeur  of  a  thunder- 
storm as  seen  in  the  forest  or  on  the  shore  of  the 
lake,  where  the  wild  waters  are  raging;  the 
lurid  glare  of  the  vivid  lightning  seems  brighter, 
and  the  claps  of  roaring  thunder  seem  deeper 
and  heavier  than  anywhere  else.  O!  I  shall 
never  forget  the  terrific  grandeur  of  that  dreadful 
thunderstorm.  The  sheets  of  flame,  for  minutes 
at  a  time,  played  around  the  tent  as  if  eager  to 

121 


A  Perfect  Tornado 

devour  it,  while  the  rolling  thunder  shook  the 
very  ground  on  which  it  rested.  The  foaming 
billows  in  their  snowy  whiteness  were  lashed 
into  fury,  and  the  rain  came  down  as  if  poured 
out  of  vessels.  It  required  the  utmost  exertion 
to  prevent  the  tempest  from  sweeping  the  tent 
away." 

The  next  day  another  storm  arose.  Of  it  he 
writes:  "  It  was  according  to  the  old  adage,  'it 
never  rains  but  it  pours,'  so  our  breeze  was  soon 
converted  into  a  gale.  In  an  hour  we  were  com- 
pelled to  run  our  canoe  into  shoal  water,  to  save 
her  from  being  swamped;  and  each  man  getting 
out  waded  with  the  baggage  to  a  place  of  shelter, 
where  the  canoe  was  secured.  But  we  had 
scarcely  got  our  tent  pitched,  and  the  things  put 
in  order,  when  the  tempest  was  upon  us;  a  tem- 
pest which  in  severity  and  duration  exceeded  the 
one  of  the  night  before.  It  was  a  perfect  tor- 
nado. O,  the  loud  claps  and  hollow  roaring  of 
the  thunder,  the  vivid  flashes  of  the  lightning,  the 
descending  torrents  of  the  water  floods — all, — all 
not  only  surpasses  the  power  of  description,  but 
exceeds  the  fancy  of  the  liveliest  imagination." 

Fortunately  for  those  who  had  to  travel  its  un- 
certain waters  in  such  small  crafts  as  birch  canoes, 
its  shores  are  very  much  indented  with  bays;  and 
good  harbours  are  numerous  and  easily  found. 
One  disagreeable  phase  of  canoeing  is  to  be  de- 
layed by  head  winds.  Sometimes  for  weeks  to- 
gether on  Lake  Winnipeg,  the  wind  will  blow  as 
steadily  from  one  direction  as  a  trade  wind  in  the 

122 


From  Ottawa  to  Norway  House 

tropics.  Mr.  Evans  and  his  family  had  their  share 
of  these,  but  under  the  guidance  of  a  good  Provi- 
dence they  at  length  weathered  all  the  storms, 
and  reached  the  northern  end  of  the  great  lake  in 
safety.  Here  for  the  last  time  they  pitched  their 
camp.  An  adventure  with  a  black  bear  that 
swam  across  the  great  river  and  tried  to  land 
close  to  the  spot  where  Mrs.  Evans  and  her 
daughter  were  sitting,  as  they  had  wandered  out 
a  little  distance,  the  better  to  enjoy  the  prospect 
of  a  glorious  sunset,  gave  them  a  bit  of  a  fright, 
and  caused  some  excitement.  However  the  ra- 
pidity with  which  the  bear  disappeared  showed 
that  he  was  the  most  astonished  one  in  the  party. 
Next  morning,  bright  and  early,  the  journey 
was  resumed.  At  Playgreen  Point  there  was  a 
halt  for  a  short  rest  and  refreshment.  Then  the 
journey  continued  and  on  and  on,  now  down  the 
winding  Jack  River  they  rapidly  sped  along,  until 
suddenly  they  found  themselves  at  Norway 
House.  A  cordial  welcome  awaited  them  not 
only  from  the  Rev.  Robert  Terrill  Rundle,  one  of 
the  young  missionaries  who  had  preceded  them, 
but  also  from  Mr.  Ross,  the  gentleman  in  charge 
of  this  important  establishment  of  the  great  and 
wealthy  Hudson  Bay  Company. 


123 


IX 

A  GREAT  TRADING  POST 

Norway  House,  a  chief  centre  of  the  H.  B.  C. — The  gather- 
ing of  Indian  Brigades — From  Saskatchewan — From  Macken- 
zie— Rapids  vs.  Ice — Pemmican — The  Buffalo — The  glory  of 
Norway  House  departed. 

Norway  House,  a  remote  interior  trading  post 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  to  be  Mr.  Evans' 
first,  and  in  some  respect,  liis  only  iiome  in  that 
great  land.  From  this  spot  which  he  with  his  no- 
ble fellow-labourers  made  to  bloom  and  blossom 
as  the  rose,  he  started  out  on  his  marvellous  trips 
by  canoe  in  summer  and  dog-train  in  winter.  Of 
this  spot  around  which  so  much  of  interest  in 
connection  with  Mr.  Evans  and  his  great  inven- 
tion of  the  Cree  Syllable  Characters  still  lingers, 
we  will  give  some  description. 

The  great  Hudson's  Bay  Fur  Trading  Company 
has  been  in  existence  in  that  country  for  more 
than  two  hundred  years.  They  received  their 
charter  from  Charles  I.  At  first  they  confined 
their  operations  principally  to  the  coast  of  the 
bays  and  great  lakes.  As  they  became  more 
wealthy,  they  gradually  pushed  on  into  the  in- 
terior of  the  country,  where  valuable  furs 
abounded,  and  Indians  to  hunt  them  were  to  be 
found. 

Some  of  their  interior  posts  were  established  at 

124 


A  Great  Trading  Post 

points  so  remote  from  civilisation  that  the  lonely 
officers  and  men  in  charge  had  communication 
with  the  outer  world  only  once  a  year,  and  the 
difficulties  of  carrying  in  the  goods  for  barter  with 
the  Indians,  and  then  taking  out  the  rich  furs  thus 
obtained,  were  such  that  often  seven  years  elapsed 
ere  the  returns  of  the  trade  were  made  at  the 
principal  establishment  in  London.  From  this, 
it  will  be  seen  that  Norway  House,  which  by  the 
water  route  is  only  several  hundred  miles  from 
the  great  Hudson's  Bay,  can  hardly  now  be  called 
one  of  the  very  remote  interior  posts,  especially 
as  the  railroad  passes  through  Manitoba,  only  four 
hundred  miles  to  the  south. 

Norway  House  stood  originally  at  the  northern 
end  of  Lake  Winnipeg.  It  derived  its  name  from 
the  fact  that  in  those  early  days,  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  imported  a  large  number  of  hardy  men 
from  Norway,  Sweden,  Scotland,  the  Orkney 
Isles  and  elsewhere,  to  assist  them  in  their  trade 
with  the  Indians.  As  a  compliment  to  a  number 
of  Norwegians  in  the  service,  the  trading  post 
then  established  was  thus  called.  After  a  num- 
ber of  years,  the  post  was  transferred  to  the 
eastern  banks  of  Jack  River,  near  its  entrance 
into  Playgreen  Lake,  Here  picturesquely  situ- 
ated, the  post  has  continued  with  fluctuating 
fortunes,  until  the  present  time. 

Its  glory  has  in  a  great  measure  now  departed, 
but  in  days  gone  by  it  was  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  all  the  great  establishments  of  the 
powerful  company,  that,  almost  despotically, 
135 


Ice  Jam  on  the  Mackenzie  River 

ruled  over  at  least  one  third  of  this  continent. 
Here  gathered  the  great  brigades  that  brought 
the  furs,  and  carried  back  the  goods  from  the 
trading  posts,  some  of  which  were  two  thousand 
miles  farther  in  the  interior.  Here  camping  on 
the  green  to  the  south  of  the  fort,  and  outside  its 
walls,  were  at  times  to  be  found  warlike  Black- 
feet,  and  Blood  Indians,  and  Mountain  Stonies 
from  the  foothills  of  the  far  distant  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. They  had  come  down  the  mighty  Saskatch- 
ewan River  a  distance  of  over  twelve  hundred 
miles,  ere  they  had  reached  great  Winnipeg  into 
which  their  majestic  river  pours  its  mighty  floods, 
down  the  only  rapids  that  break  its  navigation 
for  all  that  vast  distance. 

Here  also,  in  those  days,  were  to  be  seen  sit- 
ting around  their  camp-fires,  the  red  men  from 
the  great  Peace  and  Mackenzie  River  districts. 
They  were  men  of  peace;  but  spoke  a  language 
harsh  and  unmusical.  They  came  with  brigades 
laden  with  the  richest  furs,  and  so  were  always 
welcome.  They  had  startling  and  wonderful 
stories  to  tell  of  the  marvellous  sights  to  be  seen 
in  their  great  country,  when  the  early  spring 
freshets  send  north  their  enormous  floods  of 
water,  tearing  up  the  ice  on  the  Mackenzie  River. 
This  river  which  vies  in  volume  and  size  with 
the  Mississippi,  enters  the  Arctic  Ocean  within 
the  Arctic  circle.  When  its  great  southern  tribu- 
taries are  flooded  by  melting  snows,  and  by 
waters  from  the  mountains,  lakes  and  plains,  its 
northern  portion  is  still  in  the  grasp  of  the  Frost 

126 


A  Great  Trading  Post 

King.  That  there  are  but  few  objects  in  nature 
more  irresistible  than  the  floods  of  great  waters 
which  are  here  to  be  seen.  Northward  they  pour 
with  such  force  and  power,  that  the  ice  although 
still  firm  and  hard,  and  several  feet  thick,  is  torn 
up  and  driven  on  and  on,  at  times  for  miles, 
until  at  length  the  piled-up  masses  become  so 
firm  and  hard,  and  so  securely  wedged  together, 
that  although  the  river  may  be  from  two  to  six 
miles  across,  a  barrier  so  strong  is  formed,  that 
it  is  able  to  hold  back  the  mighty  floods. 

But  not  long  is  such  a  torrent  delayed.  Higher 
and  higher  do  the  waters  rise,  until  the  "  ice- 
jam  "  as  it  is  called,  gives  way  before  its  very 
weight,  and  once  again  the  ice  is  ploughed  up, 
and  driven  onward  for  miles  toward  the  still 
frozen  sea.  Then  again  the  immense  accumu- 
lation of  ice  once  more  arrests  the  floods,  until 
they  gather  their  forces  in  sufficient  volume  to 
make  another  advance.  Thus  on  the  battle  goes 
between  these  tremendous  forces,  until  at  length 
the  sea  is  reached,  and  the  waters  have  prevailed. 

To  excited  listeners,  these  bronzed  men  from 
the  great  river  of  the  north,  would  thus  describe 
this  wondrous  conflict  which  went  on,  at  times 
with  a  noise  that  was  equal  to  that  of  any  ar- 
tillery battle  the  world  has  ever  heard.  To  these 
men  at  this  post,  Mr.  Evans  would,  and  did 
often,  in  after  years-,  preach  the  glorious  gospel 
of  the  Son  of  God.  He  visited  their  far-away 
homes,  and  there  on  the  banks  of  the  Mackenzie 
and  the  Saskatchewan,  as  well  as  in  many  other 

127 


Buffalo  and  Pemmican 

places,  he  met  them,  and  told  "the  old  old  story 
of  Jesus  and  His  love." 

As  many  as  twenty  brigades  of  boats,  at  one 
time,  have  been  seen  at  this  then  busy  place. 
They  came  from  almost  every  section  of  the  in- 
terior. They  spoke  many  languages,  and  while 
some  were  peaceful,  others  were  men  who  had 
delighted  in  war.  Some  carried  on  their  persons 
many  scars  received  in  conflict  with  their  blood- 
thirsty foes.  Others,  fresh  from  some  warlike 
expedition  against  hostile  tribes,  still  showed 
with  exultation  the  scalps  they  had  torn  from  the 
heads  of  their  victims. 

The  wharves  and  storehouses  of  the  great 
flourishing  company  fairly  groaned  beneath  the 
weight  of  the  boat-loads  of  pemmican  and  robes 
and  furs  which  these  Saskatchewan  and  other 
brigades  brought  with  them.  Those  were  the 
days  of  plenty  for  all  the  Indians  who  lived  on 
the  fertile  prairies.  Countless  were  the  herds  of 
buffalo  that  at  times  widely  covered  the  plains. 
Travelling  was  often  rendered  difficult  and  even 
dangerous  by  reason  of  the  proximity  of  the 
herds,  as  sometimes,  in  their  wild,  mad  rushes, 
camps  would  be  overturned  and  destroyed,  and 
the  inmates  crushed  beneath  the  hoofs  of  the 
maddened  animals  that  were  forced  to  rush  on 
by  the  thousands  thundering  in  the  rear. 

For  many  years  buffalo  meat  was  the  principal 

article  of  food,  not  only  among  the  Indian  tribes 

but  at  many  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  posts. 

At  the  post  situated  near  to  those  sections  of 

188 


A  Great  Trading  Post 

country  where  the  herds  roamed,  the  inmates 
lived  principally  on  fresh  meat  as  the  buffalo 
could  be  slaughtered  at  any  time.  It  was  dif- 
ferent however  at  the  remote  stations.  For  them 
the  buffalo  meat  had  to  be  dried  or  made  into 
pemmican.  This  pemmican  was  also  the  princi- 
pal food  of  the  men  in  the  great  brigades  as 
they  travelled  through  the  country.  It  was  also 
largely  used  by  missionaries  and  other  travellers 
both  in  summer  and  winter.  On  it  Mr.  Evans 
and  his  faithful  Indian  companions  principally 
depended.  A  coarser  kind  of  it  was  also  carried 
as  food  for  dogs  on  the  winter  journeys,  while 
the  buffalo  herds  continued  to  exist.  Since  that 
time  various  kinds  of  fat  meat  have  taken  the 
place  of  the  pemmican  as  food  for  the  men, 
while  the  dogs  are  now  wholly  fed  on  fish. 
Pemmican  was  ever  considered  a  nourishing  and 
healthy  article  of  food  by  those  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  it  all  their  days,  but  the  writer 
must  confess  that  although  he  had  a  great  deal 
of  it  for  some  years  before  the  buffalo  were  ex- 
terminated, neither  he  nor  his  family  ever  took 
kindly  to  it.  It  had  too  much  the  smell  of  rancid 
soap  grease. 

With  the  extinction  of  the  buffalo  and  the 
building  of  the  great  Pacific  railway,  Norway 
House  has  lost  its  old  time  importance.  No  such 
crowds  of  Hudson's  Bay  officials  and  servants 
gather  there  as  in  former  days.  The  numerous 
brigades  of  boats  with  their  picturesquely  garbed 
Indians  no  longer  come  to  its  wharves  as  they 

129 


The  Swampy  Crees 

did  in  the  days  when  Mr.  Evans  and  his  co- 
labourers  and  successors  for  many  years  used  to 
meet  them  for  religious  worship. 

However  as  Norway  House  is  in  the  centre  of 
a  fine  fur  producing  country  it  is  still  a  place  of  a 
good  deal  of  importance  to  the  company.  Large 
numbers  of  black  bears  are  shot  every  year,  the 
skins  of  which  are  always  valuable.  Along  the 
numerous  streams  and  in  the  great  forests  still 
are  to  be  found  great  numbers  of  beavers,  otters, 
minks,  martens,  ermines  and  other  animals,  the 
furs  of  which  command  high  prices  in  the  mark- 
ets of  the  world.  To  this  post  also,  for  many 
years,  more  black  and  silver  foxes  were  brought 
in  by  the  hunters  tli^n  at  any  other  fur-trading 
post  in  the  world. 

The  Indians  have  always  clustered  round  this 
place  in  large  numbers.  They  are  called  Swampy 
Crees.  They  are  a  splendid  type  of  the  Indian 
nation  both  in  physique  and  intelligence.  Here 
since  the  days  of  Rundle  and  Evans  has  been  one 
of  the  finest  and  largest  Indian  missions  on  the 
continent.  Some  of  the  grandest  trophies  of  the 
Cross  have  here  been  won,  and  some  ,of  the  most 
useful  workers  have  here  been  raised  up  from 
among  these  once  superstitious  pagans  to  go  out 
and  preach,  with  eloquence  and  power,  the 
blessed  gospel  which  has  thus  been  made  a  ben- 
ediction to  many  others. 


130 


X 

THE  FIRST  SASKATCHEWAN  MISSIONARY 

Evans  and  Rundle  meet — Rundle's  work  at  Norway  House 
— Rundle's  estimate  of  Mr.  Evans — Rundle  goes  to  Rocky 
Mountain  House — Indian  parishioners — Buffalo  herds — The 
conversion  of  Witchekan — The  Beginning — Pagan's  belief — 
Good  Spirit — Bad  Spirit — Windegoos — "  Medicine  " — Mr. 
Evans  in  the  Saskatchewan  Country — Maskepetoon — His 
Temper — Susewisk — Maskepetoon's  conversion— Tenebigachak, 

Mr.  Evans  lost  no  time  before  entering  on  his 
work.  He  was  delighted  to  find  that  the  Rev. 
Robert  T.  Rundle,  who  had  arrived  before  him, 
had  made  a  most  auspicious  beginning.  Mr. 
Rundle  was  one  of  the  young  men  sent  out  from 
England  by  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society. 
Ordained  in  March,  1840,  he  had  immediately 
thereafter  started  for  his  distant  mission-field, 
which  was  styled  Edmonton  and  Rocky  Moun- 
tain House.  Reaching  Montreal  in  time  to  catch 
the  first  brigade  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
canoes,  he  secured  a  passage,  and  at  once  started 
on  his  long  journey,  which  would  only  end  when 
he  was  among  the  foothills  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains! When  we  trace  this  long  journey  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Ottawa,  on  and  on  through 
great  lakes  and  rivers,  reaching  up  into  the  thou- 
sands of  miles,  and  try  to  realise  that  weeks 
were  spent  ere  it  ended,  and  its  hardships  and 

131 


Waiting  for  James  Evans 

dangers  innumerable  had  been  faced  and  over- 
come, we  can  begin  to  form  some  idea  of  the 
courage  and  daring  of  the  men  who,  for  Christ's 
sake,  thus  patiently  and  cheerfully  endured  such 
toil.  Mr.  Rundle  reached  Norway  House  early  in 
June.  Ice  still  floated  in  great  masses  on  Lake 
Winnipeg,  and  the  canoemen  had  some  difficulty 
in  forcing  their  way  through  these  dangerous 
obstructions.  But  success  crowned  their  efforts, 
and  Norway  House  was  safely  reached.  Mr. 
Rundle  was  aware  that  his  ultimate  mission-field 
was  still  over  a  thousand  miles  farther  west. 
However  he  wisely  resolved  to  remain  at  Nor- 
way House  until  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Evans,  the 
leader  of  the  band.  Mr.  Rundle  at  once  began 
missionary  work  at  Norway  House.  It  was  in- 
deed a  ripe  harvest-field.  Not  only  were  the 
English-speaking  officials  and  employees  of  the 
company  pleased  to  have  him  in  their  midst,  and 
to  profit  by  his  religious  ministrations,  but  the 
Indians  were  anxious  to  receive  a  gospel  which 
could  bring  peace  and  comfort  to  their  troubled 
spirits. 

During  the  two  months  Mr.  Rundle  remained 
at  Norway  House,  ere  Mr.  Evans  arrived,  he  bap- 
tised several  score  of  natives,  and  solemnised 
quite  a  number  of  marriages.  So  absorbed  was 
Mr.  Rundle  in  his  work  for  the  good  of  the  In- 
dians that  the  work  among  the  whites  was  of 
secondary  importance.  This  caused  a  little  dis- 
satisfaction among  some  of  the  high  officials  of 
the  company,  but  it  much  endeared  the  mission- 

132. 


The  First  Saskatchewan  Missionary 

ary  to  the  red  men  who  had  quickly  found  in 
him  a  friend,  who,  sympathising  with  them  in 
their  needs  and  perplexities,  felt  that  his  place 
was  in  their  midst.  Hence  a  buffalo  robe  for  a 
bed  in  a  wigwam,  and  a  white  fish  and  a  pot  of 
tea  were  preferred  to  the  best  quarters  and  offi- 
cial rations  in  the  fort.  For  a  sanctuary,  a  well- 
shaded  glade  among  the  overhanging  trees  was 
preferable  in  the  pleasant  summer  months  to  a 
storeroom,  improvised  as  a  chapel. 

"  The  groves  were  God's  first  temples.     Ere  man  learnt 
To  hew  the  shaft,  and  lay  the  architrave, 
And  spread  the  roof  above  them, — ere  he  framed 
The  lofty  vault,  to  gather  and  roll  back 
The  sound  of  anthems ;  in  the  darkling  wood. 
Amid  the  cool  and  silence,  he  knelt  down, 
And  offered  to  the  Mightiest  solemn  thanks 
And  supplication." 

Here  for  the  first  time  Mr.  Evans  and  Mr.  Rundle 
met.  Their  plans  had  been  to  have  met  in  Mont- 
real, but  Mr.  Rundle  had  been  sent  on  by  the 
canoes  ere  Mr.  Evans  arrived  at  that  city.  It 
was,  therefore,  in  the  wilderness  that  these  de- 
voted toilers  greeted  each  other  most  cordially 
and  rejoiced  at  the  results  already  accomplished, 
and  welcomed  them  as  the  first-fruits  of  spiritual 
harvests  yet  to  be  gathered  in. 

It  was  the  privilege  of  the  writer  to  meet  Mr. 
Rundle  in  England  more  than  fifty  years  after  he 
had  begun  this  good  work  at  Norway  House. 
He  was  then  in  good  health,  a  grand  old  veteran, 
quietly  resting  until  the  summons  should  come 

133 


A  Thousand  Miles  in  Boats 

that  would  bring  him  to  his  full  reward.  Since 
that  interview  Mr.  Rundle  has  gone  home.  Lov- 
ingly and  with  great  admiration  did  he  speak  of 
James  Evans.  He  described  him  as  a  man  of 
bright  spirit,  as  well  as  of  untiring  industry,  and 
stated  that  it  was  evident  from  his  invention  of 
the  Syllabic  Characters  that  he  was  a  genius  of 
the  first  order.  He  considered  that  he  had  abili- 
ties of  such  high  order,  that  he  would  have  be- 
come famous  in  any  profession  he  might  have 
entered.  Yet  all  his  talents  were  kid  upon  the 
altar  of  service,  and  consecrated  to  the  work  of 
evangelising  the  poor  red  men,  so  long  neg- 
lected. 

As  the  bright  summers  in  those  high  latitudes 
are  short,  only  for  a  brief  time  could  these  con- 
genial spirits  work  together  at  Norway  House, 
ere  Mr.  Rundle  must,  in  order  not  to  be  caught 
by  the  ice,  resume  his  long  journey  to  his  own 
appointed  field  of  toil  in  the  great  Saskatchewan 
country. 

The  trip  of  over  a  thousand  miles  was  made 
with  one  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  Brigades 
of  boats,  which  had  come  down  loaded  with 
dried  meat  and  pemmican  for  the  trading  posts, 
and  many  bales  of  fur  to  be  sent  to  York-Factory, 
and  then  shipped  to  England.  Now  heavily 
loaded  with  supplies  for  the  coming  winter's 
trade  with  the  Indians,  the  brigade  was  returning 
up  the  mighty  river,  to  far  away  Edmonton  and 
Rocky  Mountain  House. 

On  this  journey  Mr.  Rundle  made  his  first  ac- 

134 


o 
z 

H 

z 


:3 

OQ 

< 


The  First  Saskatchewan  Missionary 

quaintance  with  his  Indian  parishioners.  Of 
them  to  me  he  said: 

"  At  the  camp-fires  on  this  trip  I  began  holding 
religious  services  with  these  Indian  boatmen,  and 
some  of  them  in  after  years  became  earnest,  faith- 
ful Christians." 

Here  on  this  trip  the  missionary  for  the  first 
time  saw  the  buffalo.     Speaking  of  them  he  said: 

"From  our  camping-places,  on  the  Saskatch- 
ewan river  we  could  at  times  see  them  in  herds  so 
vast  that  the  whole  country  seemed  covered  with 
them.  They  crowded  all  the  plains.  They  were 
literally  'the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills.'  The  roar- 
ings of  the  bulls,  for  they  were  very  pugnacious, 
was  at  times  so  loud  and  continuous  through- 
out the  night  that  sleep  was  out  of  the  question 
when  the  great  herds  were  near.  Several  times 
in  subsequent  years  my  life  and  that  of  my  Indian 
attendant  were  in  jeopardy  from  the  very  multitude 
of  these  animals.  Our  horses  were  stampeded, 
and  our  camps  on  the  plains  were  overrun  by  the 
rushing  herds,  which  because  of  the  numbers  be- 
hind, could  not  possibly  retreat,  although  appar- 
ently alarmed  at  our  shouts  and  the  reports  of 
our  guns." 

Speaking  of  the  work  accomplished  while 
waiting  for  Mr.  Evans'  arrival,  Mr.  Rundle  said: 

"Our  first  convert  at  Norway  House  was  a 
man  by*the  name  of  Witchekan.  His  conversion 
was  very  clear.  The  change  wrought  by  the 
gospel's  power  was  simply  marvellous.  He  be- 
came a  true  disciple  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  was 

135 


Witchekan  or  Number  One 

very  eager  for  religious  instruction.  We  called 
him  'Number  One,'  or  'The  Beginning.'" 

Quarters  were  provided  for  Mr.  Evans  and  his 
family  at  the  Fort,  as  their  household  effects  had 
not  yet  arrived  from  England.  With  his  accus- 
tomed energy  and  tact  he  began  his  work. 

The  Crees,  who  claim  all  this  vast  region,  are 
of  the  great  Algonquin  race.  They  are  the  finest 
of  the  tribes,  both  in  appearance  and  intelligence. 
Their  religion  is  a  kind  of  devil-worship.  They 
believe  in  the  Kissa-Manetoo,  and  the  Muche- 
Manetoo,  the  good  God,  and  the  evil  one.  Their 
belief  was,  that  the  good  God  loves  them  and 
that  all  that  is  pleasant  and  desirable  are  His  gifts. 
He  cannot  be  otherwise  than  kind  to  them  be- 
cause it  is  His  nature.  He  sends  not  only  the 
sunshine,  and  the  welcome  showers,  but  He  is  so 
interested  in  them  that  He  guides  the  fish  into  their 
nets,  and  the  otters  and  the  beavers  into  their  traps. 
On  the  other  hand  the  evil  one  is  ever  at  work  to 
cause  trouble.  He  hates  to  see  people  happy, 
and  his  wicked  mind  is  ever  active  to  try  and  find 
means  to  thwart  the  kindly  actions  of  the  Kissa- 
Manetoo  to  make  the  people  happy.  Some  of 
them  believe  that  the  evil  one  is  much  afraid  of 
the  Great  Spirit,  and  so  has  to  keep  out  of  his 
way,  and  thus  he  tries  to  do  his  evil  deeds  in  the 
dark.  Some  believe  that  this  preponderance  of 
the  good  over  the  evil  is  so  great,  that  all  their 
sacrifices  and  dances  and  drummings  were  to 
please  the  Great  Spirit.  Others,  however,  give 
such  malignity  and  power  to  the  evil  one,  that 

136 


The  First  Saskatchewan  Missionary 

they  have  among  them  a  kind  of  devil-worship. 
Their  explanation  to  me  was,  that  it  was  to  ap- 
pease the  anger,  or  at  least  produce  indifference 
in  the  Muche-Manetoo,  so  that  he  would  leave 
them  alone. 

Their  belief  of  the  highest  bliss  on  earth  was 
to  be  completely  let  alone  by  the  evil  one,  and 
thus  to  be  always  under  the  care  and  guidance  of 
the  Kissa-Manetoo,  the  good  God.  Many  of 
them  also  believe  in  what  they  call  Windegoos, 
strange  gigantic  creatures  half  demon  and  half 
man.  The  poor  superstitious  creatures  who  be- 
lieve in  their  existence  say  that  they  are  so  large 
that  as  they  stalk  along  they  brush  the  pine-trees 
aside  as  easily  as  ordinary  mortals  move  the  grass. 
These  Windegoos  are  cannibals,  and  to  them  are 
attributed  the  disappearance  of  hunters  and  others 
who  go  off  on  the  long  journeys  and  never  re- 
turn. When  we  questioned  this  and  said  that  per- 
haps the  reason  why  some  who  had  mysteriously 
disappeared  was  that  they  were  lost  in  the  rapids, 
or  killed  by  wild  animals,  we  were  always  met 
by  the  reply,  "O  no,  it  could  not  have  been  that. 
The  Windegoos  caught  them  and  devoured  them." 
And  then  they  would  shudder  at  the  thought. 

Another  belief  quite  prevalent  is  what  is  called 
good  and  bad  medicine.  It  seemed  to  me,  as  I 
studied  the  question  among  them,  that  it  was  a 
corruption  of  the  older  beliefs  to  which  we  have 
referred,  namely  to  the  existence  of  a  good  and  a 
bad  spirit. 

The  word  "  medicine  "  in  their  religion  has  an 

137 


Good  and  Bad  "Medicine" 

entirely  different  meaning  from  what  we  give  it. 
They  associate  "good  medicine,"  or  "bad  medi- 
cine "  with  many  of  the  affairs  of  life.  A 
hunter's  success  fails  him,  they  say  his  good 
medicine  has  deserted  him.  So  he  must  go 
through  a  lot  of  ceremonies  himself,  and  get  a 
conjurer  or  medicine-man  to  make  good  medicine 
for  him  in  order  that  his  success  may  once  more 
return. 

As  Mr.  Rundle's  field  was  so  distant  from  Nor- 
way House  he  and  Mr.  Evans  but  seldom  met. 
His  reference  to  these  few  meetings  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

"As  soon  as  Mr.  Evans  established  the  work 
at  Norway  House,  he  began  his  great  journeys 
over  the  country.  When  he  came  up  the  Sas- 
katchewan on  his  way  to  Athabasca,  I  used  to 
meet  him  at  Edmonton,  where  he  was  a  great 
favourite  with  everybody.  Even  Maskepetoon, 
whom  I  had  often  seen  on  his  return  from  battle 
with  scalps  from  the  heads  of  his  slaughtered 
enemies,  took  a  great  liking  for  Mr.  Evans  al- 
though he  had  not  yet  become  a  Christian. 

"From  Mr.  Evans  1  obtained  a  knowledge  of 
the  Cree  Syllabic  Characters,  which  he  had  in- 
vented, and  1  had  the  joy  of  seeing  some  of  the 
Indians  able  to  read  portions  of  the  word  of  God 
in  them  ere  1  left  the  country." 

For  some  years  Mr.  Rundle,  the  pioneer  mis- 
sionary in  the  great  Saskatchewan  country,  toiled 
on  amidst  many  hardships  and  dangers.  He 
had  many  converts  to  Christianity.     The  tribes 

138 


The  First  Saskatchewan  Missionary 

of  the  plains  in  those  days  were  all  very  warlike. 
To  secure  the  scalps  of  their  enemies,  and  to 
steal  their  horses,  were  the  great  objects  of  their 
lives.  When  Maskepetoon  and  other  chiefs  in 
council  first  heard  of  Christianity,  they  seemed 
quite  interested  in  it,  but  when  they  learned  that 
it  taught  peace  and  the  forgiveness  of  their  en- 
emies, they  rejected  it  with  disdain,  and  said  that 
such  a  religion  was  only  fit  for  old  women. 
Maskepetoon's  words  were: 

"  I'll  never  be  a  Christian  as  long  as  there  is  a 
scalp  to  take  or  a  horse  to  steal  from  the  Black- 
feet." 

He  was  a  magnificent  looking  man  physically, 
and  was  keen  and  intelligent,  but  he  had  before 
his  conversion,  a  fierce  despotic  way,  and  was  a 
man  of  ungovernable  temper.  The  way  he 
treated  one  of  his  wives  clearly  showed  this.  Her 
name  was  Susewisk.  One  day  she  happened  to 
do  something  that  aroused  his  ire.  Suddenly 
rushing  at  her,  he  drew  his  knife  and  scalped  her 
alive.  Strange  to  say,  she  survived  the  dreadful 
operation,  and  lived  for  years  after,  although  the 
top  of  her  head  was  as  dry  as  the  old  skull  in  the 
surgery  of  a  physician,  or  on  the  shelf  of  a  medi- 
cal college. 

Yet  this  is  the  same  Maskepetoon,  who  in 
after  years  listened  to  a  sermon  at  a  camp-fire 
from  the  text,  "Father  forgive  them  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do."  He  pondered  all 
night  over  the  love  of  the  Son  of  God  in  forgiv- 
ing His  enemies,  and  the  missionary's  words: 

139 


Maskepetoon 

"  If  you  expect  the  Great  Spirit  to  forgive  you, 
you  must  forgive  even  the  man  that  ha?  done  you 
the  greatest  harm."  The  next  day  he  forgave 
the  man  who  had  killed  his  son.  Ever  afterward 
Maskepetoon  was  a  devoted,  humble,  useful 
Christian.  The  gospel  is  still  "the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation,  to  every  one  that  believeth." 

Tenagibachak  was  another  chief,  whom  it 
was  Mr.  Rundle's  great  joy  to  bring  to  the 
Saviour.  He  was  an  Assiniboine  chief  and 
lived  among  the  foothills  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. Before  his  conversion  he  was  a  polygamist 
and  a  warrior.  On  his  acceptance  of  Christianity 
he  gave  up  his  warlike  habits  and  regulated  his 
domestic  affairs  in  harmony  with  New  Testa- 
ment teachings.  As  his  tribe  was  constantly  in 
danger  from  incursions  by  their  hereditary  en- 
emies the  Blackfeet,  Mr.  Rundle  one  day  asked 
Tenegibachak  what  he  would  now  do  if  attacked 
by  the  Blackfeet  ? 

To  this  question  he  replied:  "  If  the  Blackfeet 
stay  away,  they  will  never  again  be  attacked 
by  us.  With  them  we  are  willing  to  live  in  peace 
and  quietness.  But  our  new  religion  has  not 
made  cowards  of  us,  and  so  if  they  attack  us, 
they  will  find  that  we  can  fight  as  well  as  pray." 

After  a  number  of  years  of  grand  useful  work, 
Mr.  Rundle's  health  failed  so  completely  that  he 
was  obliged  to  return  to  England.  His  departure 
from  the  country  was  deeply  regretted  by  the  In- 
dians. Even  many  of  those  who  had  not  yet  ac- 
cepted  Christianity   had   learned   to  respect  the 

140 


^The  First  Saskatchewan  Missionary 

man  who  had  come  among  them  to  do  them 
good.  That  his  long  journeys  among  them,  as 
he  went  up  and  down  through  that  vast  country 
preaching  the  gospel,  were  appreciated  the  fol- 
lowing words  of  a  chief  will  show: 

"We  are  like  the  young  hungry  birds  in  the 
nest,  and  you  are  like  the  mother  bird  that  comes 
to  feed  us.  We  are  all  hungry  for  what  you 
bring." 

Mr.  Rundle  lived  to  a  good  old  age:  then  full 
of  years  and  surrounded  by  loving  friends,  he 
peacefully  fell  asleep  in  February,  1896,  and  "  was 
not,  for  God  had  taken  him." 


141 


XI 

CIVILIZING  THE   RED   MAN 

Mr.  Evans'  goods  received  via  England  and  Hudson's  Bay — • 
Encountering  prejudices — Preaching  the  gospel — Deputations 
v/aiting  on  Mr.  Evans — Planting  an  Indian  village — Indian 
men  working — "  Make  your  women  do  it  " — Building  houses — 
Vegetation  in  high  latitudes — Work  interrupted — "  The  goose 
call " — The  work  of  Mrs.  Evans — Woman's  condition  in  pa- 
ganism— "  To  regions  beyond." 

We  have  mentioned  that  Mr.  Evans  had  to  send 
his  household  effects  from  Canada  to  London, 
England,  that  there  they  might  be  reshipped  in 
one  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  vessels  for 
York  Factory  on  Hudson's  Bay.  Thus  they  had  to 
twice  cross  the  ocean,  in  order  to  reach  their  des- 
tination. When  they  reached  York  Factory,  they 
were  still  hundreds  of  miles  from  Norway  House. 
Up  this  long  distance  they  had  to  be  carried  in 
the  company's  trading  boats,  manned  by  the  In- 
dian oarsmen.  At  the  many  portages  they  had 
to  be  carried  across  on  the  backs  of  the  tripmen. 
It  thus  happened  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans  and 
their  daughter  reached  their  destination  long  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  their  household  goods.  How- 
ever, they  were  in  good  hands,  and  enjoyed  the 
hospitality  of  the  fort,  and  were  busily  employed 
in  the  blessed  work. 

Of  course,  the  first  desire  was  to  lead  the  peo- 

142 


Civilizing  the  Red  Man 

pie  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
This  required  patience  and  wisdom.  The  dark 
and  pagan  mind  does  not  always  readily  grasp 
the  truth.  Old  prejudices  and  beliefs  die  hard. 
"  As  my  father  died  so  will  1."  Thus  glibly  said 
some,  while  others  said,  "My  father  heard  not 
this  story,  why  should  I  care  for  it.?"  Others 
apathetically  refused  to  argue  or  to  listen;  and 
these  are  the  hardest  class  a  minister  has  to  deal 
with.  Still  Mr.  Evans  toiled  on,  and  great  suc- 
cess crowned  his  persistent  efforts.  The  Spirit  of 
God  applied  the  truth,  and  there  was  first  the 
troubled  heart,  and  then  the  inquiring  mind. 
"What  must  1  do  to  be  saved  ?  " 

This  has  been  heard  many  times  since  Pente- 
cost, and  will  be  as  long  as  this  dispensation  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  lasts.  Mr.  Evans  was  a  man  who 
firmly  believed  in  the  supernatural  in  religion. 
Christ  said  to  the  woman  of  Samaria,  "  The  water 
that  I  shall  give  you."  He  alone  could  bestow 
the  living  water  then,  and  He  alone  can  bestow 
it  now.  It  is  a  cause  of  continual  rejoicing,  that 
He  is  so  anxious  and  willing  to  give  this  gift  of 
eternal  life  to  those  who  earnestly  desire  it. 
So  the  Joy  and  rejoicing  of  the  faithful  minister  or 
missionary  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  greatest  when 
those  to  whom  he  preaches  and  explains  the  plan 
of  salvation,  see  in  it  what  is  their  hearts'  desire, 
and  gladly  comply  with  the  condition  on  which 
it  is  possible  for  the  Lord  Jesus  to  grant  His  peace. 
"  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt 
be  saved." 

143 


Method  of  Work 

Mr.  Evans  was  emphatically  a  preacher.  It  is 
worthy  of  thought  that  such  prominence  is  given 
to  the  necessity  of  the  ambassador  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  ever  attending  to  this  part  of  his  com- 
mission, "As  ye  go,  preach."  He  who  himself 
could  say,  "  The  Lord  hath  anointed  me  to  preach 
good  tidings,"  said  to  Jonah,  and  to  many  a  mis- 
sionary since,  "  Preach  unto  it,  the  preaching  that 
I  bide  thee."  The  commands  upon  this  point 
are  not  obscure  or  few;  and  of  those  who  knew 
Him  best,  and  had  at  Pentecost  received  the  full 
enduement  of  power  for  the  work,  it  is  said, 
"they  ceased  not  to  preach  Jesus  Christ." 

Thus  it  is  to-day,  the  really  useful  successful 
missionary  of  the  Lord  Jesus  must  still  realise  the 
necessity  that  Paul  felt,  when  he  exclaimed,  "For 
though  1  preach  the  gospel  1  have  nothing  to 
glory  of,  for  necessity  is  laid  upon  me;  yea,  woe 
is  unto  me,  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel," 

All  through  Mr.  Evans'  missionary  life,  he  firmly 
believed  that  this  was  the  first  great  essential 
requisite  for  success.  Preach  the  gospel.  Let 
the  people,  no  matter  how  degraded  and  poverty- 
stricken,  know  that  the  first  step  in  the  upward 
direction  was  to  realise  their  lost  and  undone  con- 
dition, and  their  absolute  need  of  salvation. 
Christ  first  in  the  heart,  and  then  the  after  bless- 
ings of  civilisation  and  education.  This  was 
James  Evans'  belief,  and  of  course  all  his  labours 
were  thus  directed.  With  the  Word  of  God  in 
his  hand,  he  visited  the  people  from  wigwam  to 
wigwam,  and  there  patiently  explained,  in  what 
144 


Civilizing  the  Red  Man 

might  be  called  Bible  Readings,  the  plan  of  sal- 
vation. As  often  as  he  could,  he  gathered  them 
in  companies,  and  ceased  not  to  preach  unto  them 
the  glorious  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God. 

This  Scriptural  plan  was  not  in  vain.  Large 
numbers  of  the  Indians  renounced  their  pagan- 
ism and  gladly  accepted  Christianity.  Their  con- 
version was  real  and  genuine.  The  change  was 
visible  to  all.  Even  white  men,  themselves  far 
from  God  and  righteousness,  who  at  first  sneered 
at  the  idea  of  the  conversion  of  poor  superstitious 
Indians,  were  compelled  to  admit  that  a  marvellous 
change  for  the  better  had  been  wrought  in  them. 

The  news  of  the  arrival  of  the  Ayumeaoo- 
kemou,  the  praying  master,  as  the  Crees  call  the 
missionary,  extended  far  and  wide.  Soon  depu- 
tations came  from  other  places,  who  sat  at  his 
feet,  and  listened  with  amazement  and  delight  to 
this  wonderful  story  of  the  love  of  the  Great 
Spirit,  who  as  a  loving  Father,  had  given  His  only 
Son  to  die  for  sinning  men  and  women.  Not 
only  did  they  thus  listen,  but  many  of  the  men 
returned  to  their  distant  hunting  grounds  and 
gathering  their  families,  together  with  their  few 
possessions  of  nets  and  traps,  came  and  pitched 
their  wigwams  at  the  fort,  and  there  abode,  that 
they  might  all  hear  these  blessed  truths  which 
promised  peace  and  comfort  to  their  long  per- 
plexed and  troubled  hearts. 

The  result  was  that  the  place  assigned  at  first 
for  the  Indian  village,  which  was  just  across  the 
river  from  the  fort,  was  found  to  be  altogether 

145 


Miserable  Abodes 

too  small  for  such  numbers  as  were  anxious  there 
to  make  their  homes,  where  they  could  constantly 
hear  the  blessed  gospel.  Mr,  Evans  rejoiced  ex- 
ceedingly at  these  evidences  of  the  genuineness 
of  the  work.  He  was  eminently  a  practical  man. 
As  we  have  stated,  his  chief  desire  was  to  see  the 
people  at  the  cross,  seeking  the  blessed  assurance 
of  the  Divine  smile  and  favour.  Then  knowing 
well  how  the  awakened  heart  is  aroused  to  wish 
a  higher  and  better  life  even  here,  he  was  ever 
ready  to  extend  the  helping  hand,  to  aid  in  the 
material  improvement.  "Christianity  first,  then 
civilisation,"  was  ever  his  motto.  Consistently 
pursuing  this  course,  his  success  at  every  mission 
he  ever  had  charge  of,  showed  the  soundness  of 
his  judgment  in  this  matter  which  is  so  in  har- 
mony with  the  Word  of  God.  "Seek  ye  first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness,  and  all 
these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you." 

As  soon  as  a  number  of  the  Indians  were  thus 
happily  converted,  there  was  a  desire  for  a  better 
mode  of  life.  They  had  lived  literally  from  hand 
to  mouth,  by  hunting  and  fishing.  Starvation 
often  stared  them  in  the  face.  Their  habitations 
were  wigwams,  where  at  times  many  were  hud- 
dled together  in  a  way  that  was  not  at  all  con- 
ducive to  comfort  or  morality.  The  winters  were 
long  and  severe,  and  so  many,  especially  among 
the  young,  succumbed  before  its  terrible  power, 
that  the  death  rates  were  very  much  higher  than 
they  should  have  been,  among  a  people  naturally 
so  strong  and  free  from  disease. 

146 


Civilizing  the  Red  Man 

Work  was  begun  as  quickly  as  possible.  Of 
course  the  hunting  and  fishing  had  to  be  attended 
to,  and  so  there  were  at  times  delays  in  the  work, 
but  progress,  even  if  slow,  was  being  made. 

In  consultation  with  Mr.  Ross,  the  chief  factor 
in  charge  of  Norway  House  Fort,  it  was  decided 
by  Mr.  Evans  that  the  Indian  village  should  be 
located  across  the  beautiful  little  Playgreen  Lake 
about  two  miles  north  of  the  fort.  This  was  a 
wise  selection.  It  was  a  picturesque  spot,  and 
th:re  was  plenty  of  room  for  a  large  number  of 
homes  and  fields.  It  was  helpful  to  the  morality 
of  the  place,  and  a  blessing  in  many  other  ways. 
Here,  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Evans,  the  land 
was  cleared  of  its  primeval  forest  trees,  and 
fields  and  garden-plots  laid  out.  It  was  a  new 
sight  indeed  to  see  these  Indian  men  so  industri- 
ously at  work.  In  their  pagan  state,  these  Crees 
would  have  scorned  this  manual  toil.  They  were 
expert  fishermen  and  skilful  hunters.  In  these 
duties,  as  well  as  serving  as  tripmen  or  canoe- 
men,  they  were  simply  unrivalled.  When  thus 
engaged,  no  labours  were  too  heavy,  no  priva-' 
tions  too  severe.  They  might  be  drenched  by 
the  rains  in  summer,  or  half  frozen  by  the  terri- 
ble blizzards  in  winter;  often  for  days  together 
without  food,  when  unsuccessful  in  their  hunt- 
ing expeditions,  yet  they  bore  it  all  without 
flinching  or  murmuring.  But  there  were  things 
they  would  not  do.  Some  would  die  rather  than 
carry  a  bucket  of  water  or  chop  wood  for  the 
wigwam  fires.     To  take  down   or  put  up  the 

147 


Woman's  Sad  Condition 

wigwam,  when  migrating  from  one  hunting 
ground  to  another,  and  to  do  all  the  drudgery  in 
everyday  life,  was  left  entirely  to  the  women. 

So  while  this  new  work  of  cutting  down  the 
trees  and  digging  out  the  stumps  and  preparing 
ground  for  cultivation  was  a  new  thing,  the 
pagan  scoffed  and  laughed  at  the  men  for  thus 
degrading  themselves  by  such  menial  work. 

This  sad  condition  of  women  among  these 
pagan  Indian  tribes  was  one  of  the  greatest  sor- 
rows to  Mr.  Evans.  Himself  a  man  of  the  kind- 
liest feelings,  and  with  a  heart  so  tender  that  he 
could  not  restrain  his  tears  at  the  sight  of  a  child 
in  pain,  the  way  the  women  were  treated  by 
their  husbands,  fathers,  brothers  and  sons 
filled  him  with  the  greatest  sorrow.  We  cannot 
blame  him  for  being  righteously  angry  at  a 
sturdy  old  Indian  who  came  to  the  mission  house 
one  day,  and  after  making  a  bargain  for  the  cut- 
ting up  of  a  pile  of  wood  that  was  in  the  yard  of 
Mr,  Evans'  house,  went  off  and  brought  his  wife 
to  do  the  work.  While  the  wife  was  industri- 
ously sawing  and  splitting  the  wood,  the  hus- 
band sat  on  the  fence  and  smoked  and  only 
stopped  occasionally  to  shout  to  her  to  work 
harder  as  he  was  getting  cold! 

Mr.  Evans  set  himself  to  work  with  all  of  his 
accustomed  energy  to  correct  this  sad  state  of 
affairs.  Not  only  by  earnest  importunate  words 
did  he  strive  to  bring  about  a  better  state  of  af- 
fairs, but  by  practical  work  he  showed  the  men 
a  better  and  a  kindlier  way.  Skilful  himself  in 
1-48 


Civilizing  the  Red  Man 

the  use  of  the  gun,  he  would  go  out  and  shoot  a 
deer  and  then  shouldering  his  game  would  bring 
it  in  to  the  mission  house  on  his  own  back. 

Very  different  indeed  was  this  from  the  meth- 
ods adopted  by  the  selfish,  cruel  Indian  men. 
Skillful  indeed  were  they  in  their  huntings,  but 
when  the  deer  was  shot  the  man  stalked  away 
with  his  gun  while  the  wife  or  mother  had  to 
trudge  along  under  the  heavy  load  which  often 
weighed  two  or  three  hundred  pounds.  So 
when  Mr.  Evans  urged  the  men  to  take  hold  and 
themselves  do  the  hard  work  he  had  much  oppo- 
sition. 

"Make  the  women  do  it,"  was  their  cry.  Mr. 
Evans  was  aware  of  this,  but  he  well  knew  how 
to  meet  and  crush  it  out.  Taking  his  own  axe 
on  his  shoulder,  he  said  to  them,  "Come  on," 
and  showed  by  his  skill  in  the  use  of  that  useful 
instrument,  that  he  well  knew  how  to  handle  it. 
Indians  are  hard  people  to  drive,  but  they  can 
easily  be  led  by  those  whom  they  respect.  In 
this  they  are  at  the  very  antipodes  of  the  negro. 
It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  no  Indians  were  ever 
enslaved.  The  Spaniards  and  the  Portuguese 
tried  to  enslave  them,  but  in  vain.  They  sub- 
jected them  to  the  greatest  cruelties,  they  literally 
annihilated  whole  tribes  in  their  efforts  to  enslave 
them,  but  failed  most  signally.  An  Indian  can 
die,  but  he  will  not  be  a  slave. 

Mr.  Evans,  and  many  a  missionary  since,  had 
not  studied  the  Indian  in  vain.  He  knew  how  to 
manage  them  most  successfully,  and  especially 

149 


Carpenter  and  Farmer 

now  as  they  had  renounced  their  paganism  and 
had  accepted  Christianity,  and  simply  idolised 
the  man  who  had  come  to  live  among  them.  So 
leading  them  on,  and  encouraging  them  by  his 
cheery  presence,  for  he  was  ever  of  the  brightest 
and  sunniest  of  temperaments,  he  got  out  of 
them  all  that  any  man  could  desire. 

Before  their  sharp  axes  the  trees  fell  rapidly, 
and  the  boundaries  of  the  village  were  defined. 
Stumps  were  dug  up  by  others,  and  the  once 
wild  forest  was,  under  the  guidance  of  this  most 
versatile  of  men,  turned  into  fallow  ground. 
Timber  from  the  forest  was  secured  for  a  num- 
ber of  houses.  Mr.  Evans  proved  himself  to  be  a 
master  carpenter,  as  well  as  a  capital  farmer.  He 
first  taught  the  Indians  how  to  square  the  timber 
with  their  axes,  and  then  how  to  put  up  the 
timber  frame  of  the  house,  and  to  fill  in  the  sides 
and  ends,  with  the  well  hewn  logs.  The  sponge- 
like mosses  and  the  tenacious  cream  coloured 
clay  had  to  serve  as  a  substitute  for  lime,  as  in 
that  country  there  is  no  limestone.  However, 
when  well  built,  the  little  houses  could  with 
these  things  be  made  very  warm  and  comfort- 
able. A  good  fireplace  at  one  end  or  side  of  the 
house,  supplied  with  plenty  of  wood,  of  which 
the  country  affords  an  unlimited  quantity,  gave 
sufficient  warmth  to  a  people  capable  of  endur- 
ing the  cold. 

The  doors  and  windows,  although  home-made, 
under  the  direction  of  the  missionary  were  fairly 
good,  and  of  course  much  admired  and  appre- 

150 


Civilizing  the  Red  Man 

elated  by  the  happy  people.  Some  of  the  more 
ambitious  men  as  soon  as  possible,  put  up  parti- 
tions In  their  homes,  and  in  other  ways  made 
them  attractive  and  comfortable. 

The  work  of  Christianising  and  civilising 
thus  went  on.  When  spring  arrived,  potatoes 
and  hardy  seeds  were  distributed,  and  in  a  few 
years  the  place  was  so  transformed  that  "the 
wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  was  made  glad, 
and  the  desert  rejoiced  and  blossomed  as  the 
rose." 

It  is  very  interesting  and  profitable  to  study 
God  not  only  in  the  sacred  volume,  but  in  the 
great  book  of  Nature.  Here  we  find  on  every 
hand  evidences  of  infinite  wisdom,  as  well  as  of 
boundless  love.  Take  for  example  the  summers 
of  the  high  latitudes,  in  places  like  Norway 
House.  They  are  very  short,  but  as  a  compen- 
sation for  the  fewness  of  the  weeks  of  warmth, 
those  that  are  given,  have  every  day,  from  six- 
teen to  twenty  hours  of  perpetual  sunshine. 
The  growth  in  those  warm  days  is  simply  won- 
derful. The  hours  of  night  are  so  few,  that 
there  is  no  night  chill,  and  consequently  no  sum- 
mer frost,  nor  any  other  apparent  check  in  the 
growth.  The  result  is,  that  the  hardy  grains  and 
vegetables  grow  to  maturity  at  a  rate  that  Is 
amazing  to  those  only  acquainted  with  the  slow 
growth,  in  lands  where  there  are  not  the  ex- 
tremes of  heat  and  cold.  Then  there  are  but 
few  cloudy  days.  The  rain  storms  come  up  sud- 
denly, water  the  ground  or  growing  grain  and 

151 


The  Goose-Hunt 

vegetables  and  then  disappear  quickly,  and  let 
the  almost  perpetual  sunshine  do  its  work. 

But  in  spite  of  all  that  was  done  to  encourage 
this  new  kind  of  work  by  Mr.  Evans  and  sub- 
sequent missionaries,  it  was  sometimes  difficult 
to  keep  all  of  them,  especially  the  young  men, 
at  it. 

One  day  while  about  thirty  Indians,  with  a 
missionary  at  their  head,  were  industriously  at 
work  preparing  the  ground  for  planting,  there 
was  heard  in  the  distance  the  cry  of  a  flock  of 
wild  geese.  They  were  the  first  arrivals  of  the 
great  multitudes  that  pass  over  those  regions  on 
their  way  to  the  distant  hatching  grounds  farther 
north.  The  honk!  honk!  honk!  of  the  great 
geese  was  too  much  for  these  hunters,  and  so 
every  spade,  shovel,  axe  and  hoe  was  dropped, 
and  away  flew  the  Indians  after  their  guns,  and 
speedily  they  were  off  to  the  different  points  for 
the  annual  goose-hunt. 

At  first  the  missionary  was  amazed  and  some- 
what disconcerted  by  this  wholesale  desertion, 
but  he  had  the  discretion  to  say  nothing  about  it 
in  a  fault  finding  way.  Anxious  not  to  lose  his 
grip  on  them,  he  adopted  the  wiser  course,  and 
went  along  with  them  to  the  hunt,  and  felt  quite 
proud  and  elated  when  before  his  aim,  down  fell 
his  first  gray  goose. 

Mrs.  Evans  proved  a  true  helpmate  in  this  dif- 
ficult but  blessed  work.  She  found  the  condition 
of  the  pagan  woman  sad  in  the  extreme.  A 
pagan  husband  thinks  it  is  a  sign  of  weakness 

152 


Civilizing  the  Red  Man 

to  speak  kindly  words  to  his  wife.  She  is  only 
a  drudge  or  beast  of  burden.  No  slave  was  ever 
expected  to  be  more  attentive  to  his  master  than 
she  is  to  her  husband.  He  shoots  the  game,  but 
if  possible,  he  leaves  it  where  it  was  shot,  and 
stalking  back  to  his  wigwam,  it  may  be  a  distance 
of  many  miles,  he  orders  her  to  go  with  the 
carrying-strap  in  summer,  and  with  her  sled  in 
winter,  and  quickly  bring  it  home.  When  this 
is  accomplished,  which  is  often  at  the  cost  of 
great  hardship,  for  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  carry  a 
deer  weighing  say  two  hundred  pounds,  on  the 
back,  supported  only  by  a  strap  from  the  fore- 
head, the  wife  is  expected  to  cook  a  portion  of  it 
as  speedily  as  possible.  This  she  places  before 
her  husband,  who  calls  to  eat  with  him  any  men 
who  may  be  present.  If  there  are  any  sons,  they 
also  are  permitted  to  share  in  the  feast.  But  the 
women  and  girls  must  sit  at  a  respectful  distance 
away,  and  patiently  wait  until  the  men  and  boys 
have  eaten,  and  then  be  thankful  for  what  is  left. 
It  was  also  often  the  case  that  when  she  became 
old  and  feeble,  and  could  no  longer  slave  and 
toil  for  husband  or  sons,  she  was  cruelly  put  out 
of  existence. 

This  alas,  in  too  many  instances,  was  the  sad 
condition  of  woman  among  many  of  the  Indian 
tribes,  when  the  gospel  first  reached  them.  It  is 
true  there  were  some  e;(ceptions.  Mrs.  Evans 
found  the  poor  woman  sad,  dispirited,  and  un- 
happy. She  at  once  set  to  work  to  improve 
their  condition.     With  Christian  influences  now 

153 


Woman's  Work 

reaching  the  hearts  of  their  husbands,  fathers 
and  brothers,  the  work  was  dehghtfully  encour- 
aging. 

It  was  true  that  there  were  some  old  opposers 
of  Christianity,  who  in  the  malignity  of  their 
spirits  at  the  changes  going  on  around  them, 
seemed  resolved  if  possible  to  keep  their  women 
from  hearing  the  gospel,  as  preached  by  Mr. 
Evans,  and  also  from  attending  the  women's 
prayer-meetings  and  Bible-readings  conducted 
by  Mrs.  Evans.  But  woman's  wit  and  woman's 
expedients  have  generally  proven  a  match  for 
men's  devices,  and  so,  although  having  opposi- 
tions, and  often  severe  beatings,  the  poor  women 
would  hear,  and  did  hear  the  truth  that  brought 
comfort  and  consolation  to  them  in  their  lives,  so 
full  of  sorrows. 

Noticing  the  wonderful  cleverness  of  these 
Cree  Indian  women  in  their  bead  work,  and  silk 
and  porcupine  quill  work,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans 
not  only  encouraged  them  in  it,  but  after  a  time, 
indeed  as  soon  as  practicable,  they  sent  out  to 
civilisation,  and  obtained  quantities  of  flax  and 
wool  and  spinning  wheels,  as  well  as  yarn  and 
thread,  and  organised  various  industries  among 
them.  Even  some  sheep  were  brought  out,  arid 
the  experiment  tried  of  raising  them  for  the 
wool  and  mutton.  But  the  terrible  severity  of 
the  long  winter,  and  the  ferocity  of  the  wolfish 
Esquimaux  dogs,  made  the  experiment  a  failure. 
It  was  found  to  be  cheaper  to  buy  and  bring  in 
the  wool  and  other  raw  materials,   than  to  try 

154 


Civilizing  the  Red  Man 

and  raise  them  in  a  land  of  only  three  months  of 
summer. 

Thus  the  two  phases  of  the  work  went  on; 
Ciiristianity  and  civilisation,  until  the  fame  of 
this  happy  Christian  Indian  village  of  Rossville, 
was  known  far  and  wide.  Deputations  of  In- 
dians came  from  distant  places  asking  for  mis- 
sionaries with  the  Book.  Some  of  the  crews  of 
the  boats  that  came  with  the  cargoes  of  furs  to 
Norway  House,  heard  from  Mr.  Evans  during 
the  few  days  of  delay  while  waiting  for  the  re- 
turn cargoes  of  goods,  the  story  of  God's  love  as 
revealed  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  were  anxious  to 
have  him  return  with  them,  and  tell  the  same 
story  to  their  fathers  and  brothers,  who  were 
sitting  in  darkness  in  their  far-away  homes,  be- 
cause no  man  had  told  these  things  unto  them. 
These  Macedonian  cries  could  not  be  heard  in 
vain  by  a  man  like  Mr.  Evans. 

Living  now  so  far  away  from  civilisation  and 
help,  it  was  difficult  to  get  the  home  officials  of 
the  church  to  realise  the  grandeur  and  importance 
of  the  work,  and  the  necessity  of  sending  in  ad- 
ditional help.  Only  twice  a  year  was  there  pos- 
tal communication  with  the  outside  world.  Once 
in  winter  by  the  dog-train,  and  once  in  summer 
by  the  birch  canoe  did  the  mails  arrive.  Thus  a 
whole  year  often  elapsed  before  it  was  possible 
to  obtain  an  answer  to  a  letter ;  hence  correspond- 
ing with  the  officials  about  the  work  was  very 
unsatisfactory.  Mr.  Evans  saw  this  dilemma  and 
instead  of  being  discouraged  he  resolved,  while 

155 


Apostolic  Journey 

begging  for  and  awaiting  the  arrival  of  reinforce- 
ments, to  promptly  do  all  that  could  be  done. 

The  mission  was  now  in  such  an  organised 
state,  that  under  Mrs.  Evans'  care,  and  that  of 
Henry  Steinhauer  and  Peter  Jacobs,  it  could  be 
left  without  any  serious  injury.  The  public  serv- 
ice, day  and  Sunday  schools,  prayer-meetings 
and  the  industrial  matters,  were  all  in  a  flourish- 
ing condition.  All  who  would,  could  hear  the 
gospel,  and  so  the  loving  heart  of  Mr.  Evans 
went  out  to  those  in  the  regions  beyond.  Large 
were  his  plans,  and  many  indeed  would  be  his 
dangers  and  hardships,  and  vast  the  distances  to 
be  traversed,  ere  they  could  be  carried  out.  But 
with  an  unfaltering  trust  in  God,  and  confidence 
in  his  happy  converted  Indian  companions, 
whether  they  were  his  canoemen  in  summer,  or 
dog-drivers  in  winter,  he  pushed  on  his  marvel- 
lous career,  and  whether  we  consider  the  length 
of  the  journeys  travelled,  or  the  abiding  results  that 
attended  his  efforts,  he  well  deserved  the  title  of 
the  "  Apostle  of  the  North." 


156 


XII 

THE  APOSTLE  OF  THE  NORTH 

Mr.  Evans'  journeys — Great  magnitude — His  hybrid  train — 
Cross  of  dogs  and  wolves — A  trip  with  the  dog-train — The 
dogs — Huskie  or  Esquimaux — The  sled — The  Indian  guides — 
Dog  harness — The  food — Clothing — Dog  shoes — Camp  in  the 
snow  bank. 

Of  the  long  journeys  taken  by  Mr.  Evans,  both 
during  the  short  summer  months,  or  in  the  long 
cold  winters,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  write,  but  it  is 
also  difficult,  because  the  story  will  seem  to 
many  so  improbable,  and  to  others  so  impos- 
sible. 

No  full  record  of  his  long  journeys  has  ever  been 
written.  The  narrative  would  have  equalled,  in  in- 
tense interest,  anything  in  modern  missionary  liter- 
ature. All  the  evengelical  churches  having  mis- 
sion stations  anywhere  from  Lake  Superior  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  or  from  the  Red  or  Assiniboine 
Rivers  to  the  mighty  Mackenzie,  far  away  be- 
yond Athabasca  and  Slave  Lakes,  readily  admit 
that  all  their  flourishing  missions  of  to-day  are, 
in  a  great  measure,  the  outcome  of  the  visits  and 
ministrations  of  James  Evans. 

For  long  years  after  his  death,  there  lingered 
scores  of  Indians  in  various  places  between  York 
Factory  and  Fort  Simpson,  and  from  Thunder 
Bay  to    Rocky   Mountain    House,   whose    eyes 

157 


The  First  and  Great  Missionary 

brightened  and  whose  tongues  waxed  eloquent, 
as  they  recalled  him  to  memory.  He  was  ever, 
to  them,  not  only  Nistum  Ayumeaookemow,  the 
first  missionary;  but  always  the  Keche  Ayumea- 
ookemow, the  great  missionary.  To  many  of 
his  successors,  the  writer  among  them,  it  was' 
ever  a  pleasure  to  hear  the  wonderful  stories  that 
clustered  about  his  name  and  deeds. 

While  others  had  done  well,  and  the  Indians 
were  always  kind  and  grateful  in  their  references 
to  all  of  their  missionaries,  it  was  delightful  to 
notice  how  they  all,  in  their  reminiscences  of  the 
past,  gave  him  the  first  place.  He  was  the  ideal 
missionary,  the  matchless  dog-traveller,  the  fear- 
less canoeist.  Stoical  old  fellows  who  could  not 
be  induced  to  talk  at  the  camp-fires  about  them- 
selves, or  their  personal  adventures,  would  kindle 
up,  and  talk  by  the  hour  of  some  of  the  thrilling 
adventures,  the  narrow  escapes,  and  the  Prov- 
idential deliverances  which  entered  into  his 
career. 

Some  of  us,  later  in  these  missionary  fields,  at 
great  trouble  and  expense  had  imported  a  num- 
ber of  splendid  dogs,  such  as  St.  Bernards  and 
Newfoundlands.  We  had  magnificent  trains,  of 
which  we  were  justly  proud.  On  our  missionary 
journeys  we  used  to  make  with  them  from 
seventy  to  ninety  miles  a  day.  The  old  Indians 
who  remembered  Mr.  Evans  and  his  wonderful 
train  of  half  wolves,  half  dogs,  and  the  journeys 
he  made  with  them,  would  smile  at  our  pride  in 
our  trains,  and  say,  "  O,  but  you  ought  to  have 

158 


o 
o 

Q 

X 


> 
< 

Z 
< 

> 

oi 


The  Apostle  of  the  North 

seen  Mr.  Evans'  train  and  what  they  could  do!  " 
These  four  hybrids  looked  very  much  like  the  large 
northern  wolves.  They  never  lost  their  wolfish 
disposition.  Only  their  owner  and  one  or  two  of 
his  Indian  drivers  could  manage  them.  They 
had  to  be  chained  up  each  night  at  the  close  of 
the  day's  work.  And  in  the  summer  time  they 
had  to  be  kept  like  wild  animals,  imprisoned  in- 
side a  high  stockade.  But  when  harnessed  up 
in  tandem  style  to  Mr.  Evans'  sled,  with  Henry 
Budd  or  Mustagan,  or  some  other  famous  Indian 
runner  accompanying  them  as  guide,  they  must 
have  been  about  the  finest  train  the  country  ever 
saw.  Their  end  was  sudden,  and  very  tragic  was 
the  event  that  preceded  it. 

One  morning  Mr.  Evans,  accompanied  by  an 
Indian  driver  who  could  also  master  them,  went 
into  the  high  stockaded  yard  to  let  them  loose 
for  a  little  exercise.  The  strong  door  was  se- 
curely closed  behind  them,  as  they  entered,  but 
it  was  not  locked,  as  it  fastened  from  the  out- 
side. The  two  men,  armed  with  their  heavy 
whips,  were  inside  with  the  fierce  brutes,  which 
they  had  unchained  and  allowed  to  gambol  about 
as  was  their  wont  and  delight.  In  the  meantime 
an  old  chief  had  come  to  the  mission  house,  and 
on  asking  to  see  Mr.  Evans,  was  told  by  Mrs. 
Evans  that  he  was  somewhere  about  the  premises. 
He  left  the  house,  and  after  looking  in  various 
places,  opened  the  door  of  the  stockaded  yard,  and 
went  in.  The  ferocious  animals  sprang  upon 
him  in  an  instant,  and  before  Mr.  Evans  and  his 

159 


A  Shocking  Death 

companion  could  tear  them  away,  they  had  so 
mangled  the  old  man  that  he  died  of  the  wounds 
and  shock.  Of  course  the  brutes  were  shot  im- 
mediately, and  thus  ended  the  train  that  had 
been  more  talked  about  than  any  that  ever  ex- 
isted in  that  country. 

Dog-travelling  is  still  the  only  way  that  long 
winter  journeys  can  be  made  in  that  far  north 
land;  though,  as  civilisation  advances,  roads  are 
made,  and  the  dog-trains  are  relegated  farther 
back.  Once  the  trails  of  Manitoba  were  kept 
smooth  by  the  dog-trains.  Old  Fort  Garry  some- 
times saw  as  many  as  thirty  dog-trains  gathered 
at  the  same  time,  all  ready  to  start  off  to  remote 
sections  of  the  country.  The  writer  has,  within 
twenty-five  years,  travelled  with  his  train  of  dogs 
over  the  same  route  where  now  the  express  trains 
of  the  Canada  Pacific  Railroad  dash  along.  Truly 
the  world  is  advancing;  for  civilisation  is  con- 
stantly pushing  on  into  the  wilderness,  and  the 
shrieks  of  the  iron  horse  are  arousing  the  soli- 
tudes from  their  sleep  of  centuries.  God  grant 
that  Christianity  may  keep  in  the  forefront,  and, 
as  those  new  regions  fill  up  with  inhabitants, 
may  they  come  to  be  a  people  whose  God  is  the 
Lord.  But,  at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  and 
ever  since,  and  probably  for  many  years  to  come, 
there  are  regions  so  inaccessible,  that  still  the 
canoe  is  the  one  way  by  which  to  travel  in  sum- 
mer, and  the  dog-sleds  in  winter. 

As  there  is  so  much  that  is  fascinating  and  in- 
structive about  travelling  by  dog-train  in  winter, 
160 


The  Apostle  of  the  North 

in  the  cold  regions  of  tlie  nortli,  and  as  Mr. 
Evans  travelled  many  tliousands  of  miles  in  this 
way,  and  many  other  missionaries  since  have 
done  the  same,  though  not  so  extensively,  we 
will,  in  imagination,  go  with  that  heroic  man  on 
one  of  his  journeys,  and  try  to  enter  into  the 
spirit  of  its  hardships  and  its  triumphs. 

The  dogs  generally  used  are  the  well-known 
Esquimaux  or  Huskie  dogs  of  the  country.  They 
are,  however,  so  mixed  with  other  breeds,  that  it 
is  impossible  to  get  pure  blooded  stock,  except 
at  the  most  northern  posts.  They  are  solid,  fine 
looking  dogs,  with  sharp  pointed  ears  that  are 
long  and  erect.  They  have  a  muzzle  much  like  a 
fox,  and  their  bushy  tail  is  generally  well  coiled 
up.  They  have  a  warm  furry  coat,  which  en- 
ables them  to  stand  the  intense  cold  of  the  re- 
gion. They  are  seldom  treated  with  much  kind- 
ness by  their  masters,  and  so  early  developed  the 
capacity  of  being  able  to  look  after  themselves. 
They  are  incorrigible  thieves;  it  seems  to  be  in- 
grained in  them.  Stealing  seems  to  be  the  one 
joy  of  their  lives.  It  appears  to  those  who  have 
studied  them  and  watched  their  manoeuvres,  that 
they  would  rather  steal  than  eat.  Most  dogs  can 
be  so  trained  that  they  would  rather  die  than 
steal;  but  this  is  not  true  of  the  average  Esqui-  - 
maux  dog.  He  will  steal,  no  matter  how  well 
treated  or  fed.  1  have  gone  to  an  Indian  wig- 
wam and  bought  a  litter  of  Esquimaux  puppies 
and  taken  them  to  my  own  kennels.  I  have  fed 
them  well,  and  petted  them,  and  brought  them 


Dogs  and  Dog-sleds 

up  in  the  way  in  whicii  they  ought  to  go;  but 
they  would  not  stay  there.  They  would  leave 
their  supper  to  go  off  on  a  stealing  expedition  if 
they  saw  the  slightest  opportunity  before  them. 
But  they  were  good  dogs  for  their  work,  faithful 
and  true,  as  many  Arctic  explorers,  as  well  as 
missionaries  and  fur-traders  have  often  found 
out. 
-  On  the  barren  plains,  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
forest  limit,  they  have  each  their  own  trace  for 
the  sled,  and  thus  pull  independently  of  the  rest, 
but  in  the  forest  region  they  are  harnessed  in 
tandem  style.  Four  dogs  are  called  a  train,  and 
are  supposed  to  be  able  to  draw  easily  five  or  six 
hundred  pounds  weight.  The  dog-sleds  are  like 
the  toboggans  of  Quebec,  they  are  about  ten  feet 
long,  and  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  inches  wide. 
Shorter  ones  are  used  on  some  routes.  They  are 
generally  made  of  two  oak  boards  securely  fas- 
tened together  by  cross-bars.  Then  one  end  is 
planed  quite  thin  and  when  well  steamed,  it  is 
curved  up  like  the  letter  J.  Thus  the  dog-sled 
has  no  runners,  but  just*  slides  over  the  icy  or 
snowy  track. 

On  a  long  trip  such  as  Mr.  Evans  would  take, 
say  to  Oxford  House  or  York  Factory  on  the 
northeast;  or  to  Red  River  and  to  Fort  Alexander 
on  the  south;  or  to  Cumberland  House  on  the 
southwest,  two  dog-trains  would  be  necessary 
and  three  would  be  still  better.  The  Indian  com- 
panions must  be  of  the  best;  especially  the  guide. 
His  duty  is  to  always  be  at  the  front.     He  is  sup- 

162 


The  Apostle  of  the  North 

posed  to  know  the  route,  and  to  never  be  at  fault 
as  to  the  direction  in  which  to  go.  Storms  may 
suddenly  come  up,  and  the  blinding  snow  may 
assail;  blizzards  may  roar  and  howl  through  the 
great  forests,  or  over  the  great  frozen  lakes;  yet 
he  is  expected  to  be  able  to  push  on  with  unerring 
accuracy,  and  without  any  hesitancy.  For  days 
and  days  together  there  may  not  be  the  least 
vestige  of  a  track  or  trail.  No  high  cliffs  or 
mountain  peaks  afford  any  idea  of  the  route;  no 
evidence  is  to  be  seen  of  man  ever  having  passed 
that  way  before;  yet  it  matters  not  to  the  first- 
class  guide.  With  all  the  confidence  imaginable 
he  pushes  ahead,  and  eventually  reaches  his  des- 
tination as  though  he  had  been  all  the  time  lead- 
ing in  a  well-beaten  track.  How  he  does  it,  is  to 
most  of  people  a  mystery. 

Another  wonderful  thing  about  the  Cree  Indian 
guides  is  that  they  can  travel  by  night  as  well  as 
by  day.  To  turn  night  into  day  and  do  the  trav- 
elling when  the  sun  is  below  the  horizon  is  often 
an  absolute  necessity,  on  account  of  the  preva- 
lence of  the  terrible  disease  known  as  "  snow- 
blindness."  It  is  caused  by  the  reflection  of  the 
dazzling  rays  of  the  sun  upon  the  great  snowy 
wastes.  The  first  symptom  of  its  coming,  apart 
from  the  bewildering  glare,  is  excessive  weeping. 
This  is  soon  followed  by  hot  burning  pains  in  the 
eyeballs,  as  though  red-hot  sand  had  been  thrown 
in  them.  Then  follows  total  blindness,  unless 
prompt  remedies  are  taken  to  check  the  progress 
of  the  disease.  Experienced  missionaries  and 
163 


Clever  Indian  Guides 

Indian  travellers,  when  the  days  are  of  unusual 
brilliancy,  and  snow-blindness  is  feared,  will 
sleep  during  the  hours  of  sunshine,  and  travel  by 
night.  It  is  on  these  long  night-journeys  that  the 
marvellous  cleverness  of  the  guides  is  seen. 
They  will  lead  the  trains  as  safely  through  these 
pathless  wilds  by  night  as  by  day.  How  they  do 
it  we  know  not.  Ask  them  if  you  will,  and  you 
will  not  get  much  satisfaction.  Almost  all  they 
will  say  is,  "  O,  we  know  we  are  in  the  right 
trail,"  but  how  they  know  they  cannot  tell. 

The  harness  of  the  dogs  is  made  out  of  well- 
tanned  moose  skin,  and  generally  each  collar  has 
on  it  three  or  four  little  bells.  The  dogs  are  very 
fond  of  these  bells,  and  one  of  the  ways  some 
dogs  are  punished  is  to  deprive  them  of  their 
bells. 

When  going  a  long  journey  of  several  hun- 
dreds of  miles,  it  is  very  necessary,  for  the  com- 
fort of  all,  that  everything  essential  is  well  packed 
on  the  sleds.  They  must,  when  making  up  their 
loads,  remember  that  they  are  going  into  a 
country  where  no  stores  are  found  along  the 
route,  and  that  no  hotels  or  hospitable  homes 
will  be  open  to  entertain  them  when  the  fatigu- 
ing day's  trip  is  ended.  To  provide  for  all  emer- 
gencies and  be  able  to  live  independent  of  the 
rest  of  the  world,  the  loads  will  be  about  as  fol- 
lows. Abundance  of  food,  the  fattest  that  can 
be  obtained,  with  a  good  supply  of  tea  and 
sugar.  Then  of  course  they  must  carry  the  ket- 
tles in  which  to  cook  the  meals,  and  a  number  of 
164 


The  Apostle  of  the  North 

tin  plates  and  cups,  with  l^nives  and  forks.  For 
tlieir  faithful  dogs  they  must  carry  sufficient 
frozen  white  fish  to  be  able  to  give  two  a  day  to 
each  dog,  for  the  whole  journey.  In  Mr.  Evans' 
time  pemmican  was  also  much  used  by  men  and 

dogs. 

The  bedding  is  also  an  important  matter,  as 
perhaps  they  may  not  see  a  house  in  which  to 
sleep  for  weeks.     They   must  be    prepared   to 
sleep  in  a  hole  dug  in  the  snow,  wherever  night 
overtakes  them.     Sometimes  they  may  be  4"ortu- 
nate  enough  to    get  into  a  spruce  or  balsam 
forest,  where  the  keen  winds  can  be  guarded 
against,  and  the  branches  be  used  as  their  beji. 
This  however  is  not  always  the  case.     The  day's 
journey  may  end  by  finding  the  party  in  some 
open  wind-swept  place,  where  there  is  but  scant 
material  to  make  a  barricade  against  the  pitiless 
fury   of  the  storm.     Thankful  are  they,  if  the 
guide  has  managed  to  find  a  spot  where  there  is 
sufficient  dry  wood  with  which  to  cook  the  sup- 
per, and  warm  their  half-frozen  bodies.     In  order 
to  be  ready  for  every  emergency,  there  must  be 
sufficient  bedding  to  make  all  comfortable,  or  at 
least  keep  all  from  freezing.     A  couple  of  fur 
robes,  and  some  heavy  blankets,  with  any  quan- 
tity of  heavy  clothing,  are  absolutely  necessary 
for  the  missionary.     The  Indians  prefer  to  have 
the  famous   rabbit  skin  blankets,   each  one   of 
which  requires  a  hundred  and  twenty  skins  in  its 
manufacture.     They  are  undoubtedly  the  warm- 
est robe  a  human  being  can  sleep  under.     An  In-. 

165 


Dog  Shoes 

dian  will  fairly  swelter  under  one  out  in  the 
woods,  even  when  the  temperature  is  fifty  or 
sixty  below  zero. 

Another  important  item  of  the  load  is  a  large 
supply  of  dog  shoes.  Mr.  Evans  was  always 
most  careful  about  his  dogs'  feet.  These  shoes 
are  very  essential,  as  a  dog's  foot  is  very  liable  to 
injury.  Sometimes  on  the  rough,  sharp  ice,  they 
cut  their  feet  so  that  they  bleed  very  much.  At 
other  times  in  the  rough  places  they  break  off  the 
nails  from  their  toes  or  run  sharp  spikes  through 
the  webbing  between  the  toes.  When  thus  in- 
jured they  are  quite  unfitted  for  work  and 
speedily  let  it  be  known  that  something  is 
wrong.  An  experienced  dog  will  stop  and  re- 
fuse to  move  until  his  sore  feet  are  attended  to. 
The  wise  missionary  will  have  handy  a  bunch  of 
cotton  wool  as  well  as  dog  shoes.  A  little  of  the 
wool,  saturated  in  balsam  gum,  is  fastened  over 
the  wounded  part  of  the  foot,  then  the  dog  shoe 
which  is  like  a  long  mitten  without  the  thumb,  is 
drawn  on  the  foot  and  securely  fastened  with  a 
piece  of  deer  skin.  The  dogs  get  to  be  very 
fond  of  these  shoes,  and  sometimes  resort  to 
queer  expedients  to  get  them  on.  They  will 
sometimes  pretend  to  be  very  footsore;  and,  if 
the  night  be  specially  cold  at  the  camp,  they  will 
howl  and  whine  for  them  in  a  way  that  is  pa- 
thetic though  at  times  very  laughable.  Mr.  Evans' 
train  of  half  dogs,  half  wolves,  would  lie  down 
on  their  backs  and  holding  up  their  four  feet 
would  howl  for  him  or  Henry  to  put  on  their 

166 


X 
H 

O 

z 

UJ 

O 

X 
c>0 


The  Apostle  of  the  North 

shoes.  Other  missionaries  have  had  their  dogs 
do  the  same  thing. 

It  is  always  considered  a  fortunate  thing  when 
the  day's  journey  is  ended  to  be  able  to  make  the 
camp,  as  it  is  called,  on  the  lea  side  of  some 
dense  forest  trees.  Plenty  of  dry  wood  is  also 
an  essential  requisite  to  a  good  camp;  so  the 
guide  endeavours  to  find  a  place  where,  during 
the  previous  summer,  the  fires  had  swept  through 
the  forest.  There  the  trees,  killed  by  the  flames 
but  not  consumed,  after  standing  until  the  next 
winter  have  become  so  dry  that  they  make  the 
best  of  fuel.  When  a  place  possessing  these  req- 
uisites has  been  found  a  halt  is  called,  and  at 
once  all  set  to  work  to  prepare  for  spending  the 
night.  The  dogs  are  at  once  unharnessed;  they 
do  not  have  to  be  tied  unless  some  of  them  are 
very  fierce  or  are  new  ones  that  have  been  re- 
cently purchased.  They  are  generally  allowed  to 
wander  about  at  will;  and,  if  rabbits  are  plenti- 
ful, some  of  the  young  dogs  may  get  up  a  hunt 
or  two  with  rather  indifferent  success.  Axes  are 
next  taken  from  the  sleds  and  a  general  assault  is 
made  on  the  standing  dry  trees.  They  may  be 
from  twelve  to  twenty  inches  in  diameter,  and 
fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  height.  A  dozen  or  so  of 
these  small  mast-like  trees  are  cut  down,  and 
then  chopped  up  into  lengths  of  from  ten  to  fif- 
teen feet. 

Then  the  camp  is  prepared.  The  big  snow- 
shoes  make  capital  substitutes  for  shovels,  and, 
with  these,  the  light,  dry  snow  is  speedily  thrown 

167 


Feeding  the  Dogs 

out  from  a  space  about  ten  feet  square.  This  is 
to  be  the  abode  of  all  the  party  for  the  night. 
The  snow  is  piled  up  in  banks  on  three  sides, 
while  on  the  fourth  side,  which  is  so  selected 
that  the  wind  will  drive  the  smoke  from  the 
camp,  the  snow  is  scraped  away  and  there  the 
logs  of  wood  are  brought  and  piled  up  into  a  big 
heap,  dry  pieces  and  chips  are  placed  underneath 
them,  and  the  whole  is  speedily  ignited,  and  soon 
there  is  a  glorious  blaze. 

The  robes  and  blankets  are  arranged  in  the 
camp,  which  now  has  a  wall  of  snow  in  the  rear 
and  on  the  right  and  left,  while  the  splendid  fire 
guards  well  the  front.  Kettles  are  filled  and  re- 
filled with  snow  and  kept  on  the  fire  until  they 
are  full  of  water.  In  the  larger  one  the  meat  is 
boiled,  it  may  be  venison,  bear's  meat,  or  half  a 
beaver,  in  Mr.  Evans'  party  it  would  more  likely 
have  been  some  dried  -meat  or  buffalo  tongues. 
However,  the  fatter  it  is,  the  more  it  is  craved 
and  enjoyed  by  the  missionary  as  well  as  his  In- 
dian companions. 

While  the  meat  is  cooking,  the  dogs  are  fed. 
These  faithful  animals  are  only  fed  once  a  day. 
Tender-hearted  persons  might  think  this  cruel  and 
unkind,  but  long  experience  has  taught  mission- 
aries and  dog-drivers  that  they  thrive  best  on  one 
meal  a  day,  and  that  one  given  them  at  the  even- 
ing camp.  If  fed' in  the  morning,  they  are  apt 
to  be  sluggish  at  their  work  during  the  entire 
day.  Even  small  lunches  during  the  day  are  not 
helpful.     Long  experience  has  shown  that  a  good 

168 


The  Apostle  of  the  North 

meal  of  two  white  fish  at  night,  for  each  dog, 
keeps  them  in  better  health  and  spirits  than  any 
other  plan  that  has  been  adopted.  Some  dogs 
get  so  that  they  will  refuse  food  at  any  other  time 
of  the  day. 

So  severe  is  the  frost,  that  these  fish  are  as  solid 
as  stones,  and  so,  ere  they  are  fed  to  the  dogs,  a 
log  is  placed  quite  near  to  the  fire,  and  there  two 
fish  for  each  dog  are  placed  and  thoroughly 
thawed  out.  Sometimes,  in  their  nervous  anxiety 
and  jealousy  while  waiting  for  their  fish,  which 
they  see  thawing  under  their  very  noses,  fighting 
begins  among  them,  and  as  one  dog  after  another 
joins  in,  it  becomes  quite  a  battle.  But  it  was 
always  noticed  that  dogs  that  have  toiled  in  the 
same. trains,  very  seldom  quarrelled  with  each 
other.  The  battle  was  usually  between  the  four 
of  one  train,  and  the  four  of  another.  When  fed, 
they  go  and  dig  holes  in  the  snow  and  there  cud- 
dle down  and  sleep,  and  shiver  through  the  bitter 
cold  night  as  best  they  can.  Sometimes  valuable 
imported  dogs  have  frozen  to  death  in  their  cold 
nest  in  the  snow. 

The  dogs  being  thus  fed  and  disposed  of,  the 
missionary  and  his  Indians  have  their  own  sup- 
pers. Tin  plates,  and  cups  of  the  same  material, 
are  arranged  on  an  old  tablecloth,  and  then  with 
knives  and  forks  they  attack  the  meat  and  flat 
cakes,  if  they  have  any,  and  drink  a  great  deal  of 
strong,  well-sweetened  tea,  which  has  been  made 
by  one  of  the  Indians  in  a  second  kettle. 

Sometimes,  when  the  night  was  intensely  cold, 

169 


Camp  Devotions 

which  was  generally  the  case,  the  meat  would 
freeze  up  two  or  three  times  during  the  meal. 
When  this  would  occur  it  would  have  to  be 
plunged  for  a  minute  or  two  into  the  boiling  pot, 
kept  specially  ready  for  this  emergency. 

When  it  was  colder  than  forty  below  zero,  the 
ice  would  form  on  a  pint  cup  of  tea  in  a  few 
minutes  after  it  was  poured  out  of  the  boiling  pot. 
Many  indeed  were  the  cold  nights  thus  endured, 
so  all  were  thankful  for  the  roaring  log  fire. 

After  supper  they  had  prayers.  The  Indians 
were  bright  and  joyous  and  full  of  pleasantry. 
Mr.  Evans,  himself  one  of  the  most  joyous  of 
men,  would  never  take  with  him  the  second  time, 
a  dog-traveller  or  guide  no  matter  how  capable 
he  was  in  doing  his  work,  who  was  morose  or 
sullen  in  his  disposition.  Serving  the  Lord  with 
gladness  himself,  he  wanted  that  kind  of  men 
around  him.  But  when  after  supper  the  words 
were  uttered  :  "Let  us  worship  God,"  all  talk- 
ing and  laughing  ceased,  and  reverently  and  de- 
voutly they  all,  with  uncovered  heads,  seated 
themselves  around  their  beloved  missionary,  who 
always  led  the  service.  A  portion  of  the  Word 
of  God,  newly  translated  into  their  musical  Cree 
language,  would  be  read,  then  a  familiar  hymn 
would  be  sung,  and,  devoutly  kneeling,  first  one 
and  then  another  of  these  happy  converted  In- 
dians would  lead  in  prayer.  Then  Mr.  Evans 
would  offer  the  closing  petitions  and  pronounce 
the  benediction  in  their  own  language,  and  the 
precious  devotions  were  at  an  end. 

170 


The  Apostle  of  the  North 

Mr.  Evans,  although  the  most  rapid  of  travel- 
lers, and  ever  anxious  to  use  every  hour  possible, 
alv^^ays  took  abundance  of  time  for  the  morning 
and  evening  prayers.  He  made  each  service  the 
occasion  of  some  Bible  instruction  that  would  be 
food  for  thought  and  encouragement  to  the  men 
with  whom  he  was  travelling.  Then,  after  pray- 
ers, the  necessary  arrangements  for  spending  the 
night  in  the  camp  were  at  once  quickly  made. 
How  to  sleep  comfortably  in  a  camp  like  this, 
which  was,  as  we  have  described,  only  a  place 
from  which  the  snow  had  been  scraped  and  piled 
up  on  three  sides  of  a  square,  with  no  roof  above, 
and  a  flashy  fire  at  the  front,  which  in  all  proba- 
bility, unless  the  wolves  are  threatening,  will  go 
out  in  a  couple  of  hours,  we  must  try  and  de- 
scribe in  our  next  chapter. 


171 


XIII 

NIGHT  IN   THE  WINTRY  CAMP 

Night  in  the  Forest  Camp — Preparing  to  sleep — Loving  In- 
dian Companions — The  glorious  Aurora  Borealis. 

One  of  the  favourite  hymns  which  Mr.  Evans 
and  his  Indian  dog-drivers  used  to  sing  at  their 
evening  devotions  ere  they  lay  down  and  tried  to 
sleep,  was  the  Cree  translation  of  the  Evening 
Hymn,  of  which  the  following  is  the  first  verse: 

"  Ne  ma  mechee  mou,  ne  mon  toom, 
Ka  ke  was  ta  na  ma  wee  yan, 
Ka  na  way  ye  min  kee  cha  ya 
A  qua  na  ta  ta  quan  a  une." 

Very  appropriate  indeed  would  be  such  a 
prayer,  thus  sung  in  such  a  place,  in  such  a  tem- 
perature. 

There  they  are,  out  in  the  dreary  forest  in  that 
hole,  scooped  out  in  the  snow.  No  roof  have 
they  above  them  but  the  starry  heavens,  no  walls 
on  three  sides  of  them  but  those  snow  banks, 
which  their  snowshoes  have  thrown  up.  The 
fire,  now  blazing  so  brightly  in  front  of  them, 
will,  unless  constantly  renewed,  soon  go  out. 
Yet  they  will  be  obliged  to  pass  the  long  cold 
night  with  the  temperature  ranging  anywhere 
from  forty  to  sixty  below  zero.     So  no  wonder 

172 


Night   in  the  Wintry  Camp 

if  with  a  consciousness  of  their  need  of  the 
watchful  care  of  the  ever-loving  Almighty  Friend, 
they  invoke  His  presence,  and  His  protection. 

As  they  rise  up  from  their  devotions,  the  de- 
voted Indian  attendants  say,  "  Now  missionary, 
if  you  will  get  ready,  we  will  make  your  bed, 
and  then  tuck  you  in."  No  traveller  ever  had 
more  loyal  and  devoted  attendants  than  are  these 
loving  vigilant  Christian  Indians.  They  are  alive 
to  the  many  dangers  that  are  necessarily  incident 
to  such  travelling  By  day  and  night,  and  are  quick 
to  meet  every  emergency.  The  way  they  make 
the  bed  for  the  missionary  is  about  as  follows: 

First,  they  spread  out  a  large  buffalo  skin  on 
the  ground  in  this  so-called  camp,  from  which 
most  of  the  snow  has  been  removed.  On  this 
robe  a  large  Hudson's  Bay  blanket  is  laid.  The 
pillow  is  then  so  placed  that  the  feet  of  the  mis- 
sionary will  be  toward  the  fire.  While  the  men 
have  been  making  the  bed,  the  missionary  has 
been  preparing  himself  to  occupy  it.  There  is  no 
disrobing  before  retiring  to  rest,  in  such  a  bed- 
room, and  in  such  an  atmosphere.  On  the  con- 
trary the  missionary  very  gladly  puts  on  a  large 
amount  of  additional  clothing. 

A  fur  bag  into  which  to  crawl  was  at  one  time 
quite  popular,  but  it  has  been  much  discarded  of 
late.  Fur  boots  reaching  up  to  the  body,  and 
large  enough  to  be  pulled  on  over  the  moccasins, 
leggins  and  pants,  are  very  comfortable.  A  fur 
or  heavy  blanket  coat  with  well-lined  hood  to 
draw  over  the  large  fur  cap  is  also  essential,  then 
173 


Heads  Covered 

fur  mittens  for  the  hands  and  perhaps  a  heavy 
Scottish  plaid  wound  round  and  round  the  body, 
generally  completes  the  outfit.  The  next  opera- 
tion is  to  get  into  this  bed  already  described. 
When  the  missionary  has  lain  down,  the  Indians 
at  once  complete  their  work.  Throwing  over 
the  already  well  packed  man  a  couple  of  blank- 
ets and  a  large  fur  robe,  they  begin  the  process 
of  tucking  him  in.  No  loving  mother  ever  more 
tenderly  or  thoroughly  tucked  in  her  child  in  his 
crib  than  these  experienced  Indians  tuck  in 
their  beloved  missionary.  The  operation  is  very 
satisfactory  at  first,  as  they  begin  at  the  feet  and 
gradually  work  up  to  the  head.  When,  how- 
ever, the  head  is  reached  they  immediately  pro- 
ceed to  cover  it  up.  This,  of  course,  is  very  try- 
ing to  an  inexperienced  white  man,  as  there  is 
such  a  sense  of  suffocation  which  is  not  entirely 
removed  even  by  the  assuring  words  of  the  faith- 
ful Indians,  who  inform  the  sufferer  that  al- 
though he  thinks  he  is  going  to  die,  yet  he  will 
manage  to  survive.  However,  in  spite  of  these 
assuring  words  he  finds  it  extremely  difficult  to 
breathe  packed  in,  as  he  is  under  this  heavy 
covering,  and  if  the  night  is  unusually  cold, 
tucked  in  under  his  shoulders.  But  trying  as  it 
is  for  the  novice  thus  to  sleep  without  his  ac- 
customed number  of  cubic  feet  of  fresh  air,  there 
is  no  case  on  record  of  any  missionary  having 
thus  been  suffocated,  although  Mr.  Evans  and 
others  found  it  quite  an  ordeal  to  accustom  them- 
selves to  sleep  after  this  fashion. 
174 


Night   in  the   Wintry  Camp 

The  experienced  Indians  well  knowing  the 
dangers  of  the  winter  camp,  generally  warn  the 
missionary  to  keep  as  quiet  as  possible,  while 
thus  almost  buried  beneath  his  heavy  coverings. 
When  questioned  as  to  the  reasons  of  this  solici- 
tude, the  answer  given  is,  "  You  may  disarrange 
the  clothing  while  you  are  asleep,  and  so  let  in 
the  cold  air;  and  then  you  may  freeze  to  death 
without  awakening."  This  is  serious  informa- 
tion, and  is  apt  to  make  the  missionary  careful. 

That  it  means  something  is  evident  from  the 
fact  that  one  night  a  missionary  unconsciously 
uncovered  his  face,  doubtless  on  account  of  the 
instinctive  longing  for  fresh  air.  When  a  little 
later  he  fully  awoke  to  consciousness,  he  found 
himself  pulling  away  at  something  he  at  first 
thought  was  the  end  of  an  axe-handle,  but  which 
he  soon  discovered  was  his  frozen  nose! 

Strange  as  it  may  appear,  a  fall  of  snow  is  like 
an  additional  blanket  on  a  none  too  warm  bed  on 
a  cold  wintry  night.  The  question  has  been 
asked,  who  tuck  in  the  faithful  Indians  who 
have  been  so  considerate  and  thoughtful  about 
their  missionary  ?  Accustomed  as  they  are  to 
their  primitive  way  of  sleeping,  from  long  prac- 
tice they  have  become  very  skillful  in  so  rolling 
themselves  up,  each  in  a  single  blanket  that  it 
seems  as  though  not  a  particle  of  air  is  able  to 
reach  them.  Brought  up  in  a  mossbag,  where 
they  are  lashed  to  a  board  when  babies,  they  are 
obliged  to  keep  still,  and  an  Indian  very  seldom 
stirs  in  his  sleep  from  the  moment  he  lies  down 

175 


Facing  a  Blizzard 

until  he  springs  up  refreshed  and  invigorated  in 
the  morning. 

At  times  Mr.  Evans  and  his  dog-drivers  were 
exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  great  northern  gray 
wolves.  Fortunately  they  seldom  went  in  packs 
larger  than  seven  or  eight.  When  their  howling 
was  heard  additional  wood  was  put  on  the  fire 
which  was  kept  burning  as  long  as  they  were 
troublesome.  It  is  a  fortunate  thing  for  mission- 
aries and  other  travellers  that  these  bloodthirsty 
brutes  are  afraid  of  fire.  Still  it  was  ever  neces- 
sary to  be  on  guard  when  their  mournful  blood- 
curdling bowlings  were  heard.  Thus  did  Mr. 
Evans  spend  night  after  night,  often  for  weeks 
together,  with  the  exception  of  the  short  visits 
made  at  the  different  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
trading  posts,  guarding  against  these  treacherous 
foes  as  he  rapidly  travelled  through  the  country. 

He  had  some  fierce  encounters  with  blizzard 
storms,  and  at  these  times  it  was  extremely  diffi- 
cult to  find  the  way.  A  blizzard  is  very  different 
from  an  ordinary  snowstorm.  It  may  come  on 
while  the  sky  is  cloudless  and  the  sun  is  shining 
with  undimmed  splendour.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  where  the  winters  are  very  cold  the 
snow  does  not  congeal,  but  is  light  and  dry  and 
feathery.  A  blizzard  storm  consists  of  a  high 
wind  which  lifts  up  and  drives  before  it  this  light 
dry  snow.  So  full  does  the  air  become  of  it  that 
often  it  is  impossible  for  those  so  unfortunate  as  to 
be  caught  out  in  it  to  see  a  dozen  feet  in  any  direc- 
tion.    Trails,  paths,  roads,  whatever  there  may 

176 


< 
z 


Night  in  the  Wintry  Camp 

have  been  of  this  description  are  soon  obliterated; 
hence  the  great  difficulty  for  any  except  the  most 
experienced,  to  avoid  becoming  bev/ildered  and 
lost. 

These  blizzards  often  come  up  very  suddenly 
and  are  as  apt  to  occur  by  night  as  by  day.  At 
midnight  the  stars  may  be  shining  in  the  heavens 
with  rare  beauty,  and  in  one  short  hour  a  blizzard 
storm  may  be  howling  through  the  forest  or  over 
the  lakes  and  prairies  like  a  fierce  monster  clam- 
ouring for  his  prey.  Then  indeed  it  is  far  from 
pleasant  in  the  wintry  camp.  The  banks  of  snow 
so  labouriously  shovelled  with  the  snowshoes 
are  instantly  caught  up  in  the  maddening  gale 
and  whirled  in  every  direction.  The  fire  that 
may  have  been  burning  brightly  is  extinguished 
by  its  fury,  so  that  where  the  bright  blaze  shed 
its  light  and  warmth  around,  the  pitiless  storm 
has  smothered  all  and  piled  up  a  drift  of  snow, 
like  a  great  winding  sheet. 

Fortunate  was  it  for  Mr.  Evans  and  his  com- 
panions if  they  were  so  completely  covered  up 
that  they  could  comfortably  lie  still  and  let  the 
blizzard  howl  and  rage  above  them.  Strange  as 
it  may  appear  this  was  quite  possible  to  do,  and 
many  a  missionary  party  since  has  slept  out  in 
the  woods  during  these  terrific  storms.  Warm 
and  safe  under  their  heavy  blankets  and  robes, 
the  bowlings  of  the  blizzards  have  only  been  to 
them  as  lullabies,  and  they  have  rested  and  slept 
as  comfortably  as  though  in  their  happy  homes. 

The  getting  up  in  the  mornings,  however,  was 

177 


Northern  Lights 

not  always  comfortable,  after  one  of  these  night 
storms,  even  if  it  had  spent  its  fury.  Everything 
was  buried  under  the  snow.  Even  the  dogs  had 
to  be  searched  for  and  dug  out.  From  the  spot 
where  the  fire  had  blazed  the  night  before,  the 
snow  had  to  be  cleared  away,  and  fresh  wood 
had  to  be  cut  and  a  new  fire  made.  Snowshoes, 
dog  harness,  sleds  and  various  other  things  had 
to  be  searched  for,  and  dug  out  from  the  drifts. 
Breakfast  similar  to  the  supper  of  the  previous 
evening,  was  quickly  cooked  and  eaten  by  the 
half  frozen  company,  who,  although  all  busy, 
found  it  hard  work  to  keep  from  shivering. 
Prayers  followed,  and  then  the  dogs  were  har- 
nessed, the  loads  tied  on  the  sleds,  and  the  jour- 
ney was  resumed. 

One  of  the  great  compensations  which  the  lover 
of  nature,  and  Mr.  Evans  was  emphatically  one 
of  them,  has  in  those  high  latitudes  are  the  beau- 
tifully natural  phenomena  there  at  times  dis- 
played. At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  the  most 
vivid  and  distinct  mirages  display  their  erratic 
powers.  Places  scores  and  sometimes  hu-ndreds 
of  miles  away  are  clearly  thrown  up  high  above 
the  horizon.  Mock  suns  in  many  circles  sur- 
round the  real  sun,  and  vivid  crosses  like  the  one 
that  thrilled  the  soul  and  fired  the  courage  of 
Constantine  are  not  uncommon.  But  the  glory 
of  these  regions,  surpassing  the  visions  of  all 
other  lands,  is  the  aurora  borealis,  commonly 
known  as  the  Northern  Lights. 

Artists  have  tried  to  paint  their  ever-changing 

178 


< 

a; 

o 

fti 

D 

< 


X 


Night  in  the  Wintry  Camp 

glories,  and  writers  to  give  us  some  adequate 
idea  of  their  bewildering  splendours,  but  all  in 
vain.  Their  very  mysteriousness,  the  uncertainty 
that  still  exists  as  to  their  origin,  the  suddenness 
with  which  at  times  they  blaze  out,  in  their  more 
than  earthly  beauty;  the  rapidity  with  which 
they  change  from  "glory  to  glory,"  all  these  and 
many  other  of  their  characteristics  only  add  to 
our  exquisite  pleasure,  and  increase  our  fascina- 
tion as,  with  undiminished  interest,  we  gaze  upon 
them. 

Sometimes  as  seen  in  the  illustration  Mr.  Evans 
sa-  I  them  as  they  danced  and  flitted  and  rolled 
and  unrolled  before  him.  At  times  they  were  of 
purest  white,  then  suddenly  they  took  on  by 
turns,  and  in  wondrous  combinations,  all  the 
colours  of  the  rainbow.  Often  they  flashed  and 
blazed  all  night  until  their  glories  were  lost  in  the 
splendour  of  the  rising  sun. 

Thus  day  after  day,  and  week  after  week  with 
all  the  varied  experiences  of  glorious  weather, 
wintry  storms  and  wondrous  auroras  by  day 
and  night,  this  marvellous  missionary  pushed  on. 
Of  course  he  was  human,  and  at  times  suffered 
most  intensely;  but  such  was  his  devotion  to  his 
work,  and  his  joy  at  seeing  the  cause  of  Christ 
prospering  and  many  Indians  renouncing  their 
paganism,  that  he  counted  his  physical  sufferings 
but  trifles  in  comparison  with  the  good  accom- 
plished. 

Not  only  was  he  emphatically  the  apostle  of 
these  northern  red  men,  but  his  periodical  visits  to 

179 


Trophies,  White  and  Red 

the  great  trading  posts  of  the  fur  traders  were 
looked  forward  to  with  pleasure  and  delight. 
Mr.  Eyans  faithfully  preached  the  Word  of  God 
to  the  whites  as  well  as  to  the  Indians.  Through 
his  loving  words,  strong  and  faithful  at  all  times, 
he  had  the  joy  of  seeing  many  of  the  officers  and 
employees  at  these  different  posts,  become  earnest 
and  zealous  followers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

The  trophies  thus  won  were  his  exceeding 
great  reward;  and  he  counted  no  journey  too 
long,  no  hardships  too  severe,  if  only  he  could 
see  men  and  women,  white  or  red,  brought  to 
the  foot  of  the  Cross. 


180 


XIV 

~  INVENTION   OF  THE   SYLLABIC   CHARACTERS 

Invention  of  the  Syllabic  Characters— The  wandering  habits 
of  the  Indians— In  search  for  food— Alphabet— Thirty-six  Char- 
acters—Type of  tea  chest  lead— Ink  of  soot  and  sturgeon  oil- 
Translation  begun— School  formed— The  birch  bark  books- 
Popularity  of  the  invention— A  Catechism  printed— Helped  by 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 

That  which  will  give  James  Evans  the  most 
enduring  fame,  and  keep  his  name  prominent 
among  the  greatest  missionaries  and  benefactors 
of  his  race,  is  the  fact  that  he  invented  and  per- 
fected what  are  known  as  the  Cree  Syllabic  Char- 
acters. From  the  time  Mr.  Evans  was  taken  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Case  from  his  country  schoolhouse  and 
set  to  work  among  the  Indians,  the  investigation 
of  their  languages  and  the  mastery  of  them,  as 
far  as  possible,  was  one  of  his  lifelong  pursuits. 
While  in  the  old  Province  of  Upper  Canada,  now 
better  known  as  Ontario,  he  studied  with  such 
diligence  that  he  became  quite  proficient  in  Ojib- 
way,  and  some  other  languages  of  the  Indians 
among  whom  he  so  industriously  toiled.  As  has 
already  been  said,  he  spent  some  considerable 
time,  and  all  of  his  available  cash,  in  going  to 
New  York,  for  the  purpose  of  there  putting 
through  the  press  certain  portions  of  the  Word  of 
God,  as  well  as  a  catechism  and  a  number  of 

181 


Wandering  Habits  of  the  Indians 

hymns,  which  he  himself  had  translated  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Indians. 

When  he  reached  Norway  House,  he  found 
the  condition  of  the  Indians  very  different  from 
that  of  those  among  whom  he  had  formerly  la- 
boured. In  Upper  Canada,  their  reservations 
were  where  the  land  was  fertile,  and  the  climate 
everything  that  could  be  desired  for  the  produc- 
tion of  abundance  of  grain  and  vegetables.  If 
any  of  the  Indians  still  occasionally  went  on 
hunting  expeditions,  it  was  by  choice,  not  by 
necessity,  as  the  same  labour  expended  on  the 
soil  brought  them  far  greater  returns. 

The  case  was  far  different  in  the  northern 
fields.  There  the  summer  was  so  short  and  the 
quantity  of  good  land  available  so  limited,  that 
the  products  of  the  soil  afforded  at  the  best  but  a 
small  proportion  of  the  essential  support  of  the 
people.  They  were  obliged  to  depend  almost 
entirely  upon  their  hunting  and  fishing.  The 
great  lakes  and  rivers  abounded  in  the  finest  of 
fresh-water  fish.  But  even  fish  have  their  mi- 
grations, and  in  order  to  obtain  them  in  sufficient 
quantities,  the  Indians  had  to  move  with  them. 
What  was  true  in  reference  to  the  fish,  was  even 
more  true  in  reference  to  the  game.  Some  ani- 
mals are  ever  on  the  move.  The  great  herds  of 
reindeer  roam  over  vast  areas.  Bears  also  are 
great  wanderers,  and  so  are  some  other  animals. 
They  are  instinctively  drawn  to  those  sections  of 
the  country  where  their  food  can  be  obtained  at 
the  different  seasons  of  the  year.     Then  there  are 

182 


Invention  of  the  Syllabic  Characters 

certain  sections  of  the  country  which  abound  in 
valuable  fur-bearing  animals,  which  can  only  be 
hunted  at  certain  times. 

As  a  result,  Mr.  Evans  found  that  those  Indians 
who  would  make  a  successful  living  must  be 
very  much  on  the  move.  For  a  time,  when  fish 
were  abundant  in  Playgreen  Lake  and  vicinity, 
they  could  live  at  Norway  House.  Then  as  the 
fish  disappeared,  the  Indians  had  to  seek  a  living 
elsewhere.  Some  went  far  away  into  the  in- 
terior, among  the  smaller  streams,  looking  for  the 
industrious  beaver.  Others  went  after  the  fierce 
black  bear;  and  others  sought  for  the  otter,  or 
fisher,  or  wolverine,  or  the  many  varieties  of  the 
fox,  from  the  rich  and  valuable  black  and  silver, 
to  the  common  red  and  the  beautiful  white. 
Living  as  they  did  from  hand  to  mouth,  and 
never  having  a  reserve  of  food,  or  the  ability  to 
purchase  it,  they  were  obliged  to  take  their  wives 
and  children  with  them  on  these  almost  constant 
wanderings  from  one  fishing  or  hunting  ground 
to  the  other. 

It  followed,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Evans  had  here  to 
face  a  condition  of  things  entirely  new.  He  could 
preach  to  the  Indian  hunters  as  they  came  in  from 
their  hunting  grounds  with  the  furs  which  they 
exchanged  for  supplies,  and  remained  for  a  few 
days  at  Rossville,  ere  they  returned  to  their  dis- 
tant hunting  lodges  far  away  in  the  forest.  But 
their  wives  and  children  were  far  away,  and 
would  not  return  until  the  spring  opened  and 
they  could  travel  by  their  canoes.     In  the  sum- 

183 


Problem  of  Food-Supply 

mer,  as  the  men  had  to  spend  most  of  their  time 
as  tripmen  in  the  transportation  into  the  interior 
of  the  country,  of  the  goods  of  the  company,  and 
the  bringing  out  of  the  furs  for  shipment  to  Eng- 
land, it  was  difficult  to  teach  them  to  read  in  the 
ordinary  way.  Even  the  women  and  children  had 
become  so  accustomed  to  lead  these  ever  roving 
lives,  that  the  slightest  report  that  fish  or  rabbits 
were  more  numerous  at  some  point  twenty  or 
thirty  miles  away,  was  quite  suificient  to  excite 
them  to  removal,  and  so,  all  summer,  while  the 
men  were  absent  the  women  and  children  were 
thus  roaming  about. 

At  first,  with  his  usual  courage,  he  tried  to 
remedy  the  evil;  but  the  all-essential  problem  of 
the  food  supply  was  there  before  them,  and  he 
found  that  at  least  for  some  years  to  come,  the 
Indians  would  have  to  continue  in  the  same  style 
of  living,  unsatisfactory  though  it  was. 

The  great  wheat  fields  of  Manitoba  and  the 
regions  west  of  them,  were  then  the  feeding 
grounds  of  the  buffalo.  Flour  was  almost  un- 
known among  the  Indians.  Bread  had  never 
been  heard  of.  So  destitute  then  was  the  lan- 
guage of  the  very  idea  of  bread  that  in  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  the  petition,  "Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread"  is  written:  "Meyenan  anooch  kake- 
seekak  kaooche  pe  mah  teseyak,"  which,  liter- 
ally translated,  is,  "Give  us  this  day  something 
to  keep  us  in  life."  The  question  of  food  was 
paramount,  and  so  the  Indians  had  to  continue 
their  wanderings  or  starve.  To  teach  them  how 
184 


Invention  of  the  Syllabic  Characters 

to  read,  no  matter  how  great  their  anxiety  to 
learn,  was  under  such  conditions  almost  an  im- 
possibility. It  is  true  that  some  persevering 
spirits  did  succeed  even  against  all  these  diffi- 
culties, and  became  fairly  good  English  scholars, 
but  the  great  majority  necessarily  remained  in 
ignorance.  Mr.  Evans  was  troubled  in  spirit,  and 
mourned  over  such  a  state  of  things.  After  see- 
ing at  the  missions  in  Upper  Canada  hundreds  of 
Indians  learning  to  read  the  Word  of  God  in 
their  own  language,  it  was  peculiarly  trying  that 
the  Crees,  equally  intelligent  and  anxious,  should 
not  enjoy  the  same  advantages. 

While  pondering  over  this  matter  and  making 
it  the  subject  of  much  prayer,  there  flashed  into 
his  mind  this  thought:  "Why  cannot  a  simpler, 
easier  method  of  learning  to  read  be  invented, 
than  our  old,  slow,  cumbersome  one  with  the 
alphabet?"  This  thought  took  such  possession 
of  him  that  it  became  all-absorbing.  He  could 
not  get  it  out  of  his  mind.  It  seemed  such  a  de- 
lusive thing,  that  while  he  pondered  over  it,  the 
uppermost  thought  for  a  long  time  was  that  it 
was  only  as  a  dream.  However,  it  so  abode 
with  him,  that  he  set  himself  to  work  out  the 
problem  with  his  usual  energy  and  perseverance. 

His  first  work  was  to  so  study  the  language,  as 
to  find  the  number  and  character  of  the  sounds 
used  by  the  best  speakers  in  the  tribe.  Fortu- 
nately the  Cree  is  one  of  the  finest  of  the  Indian 
languages,  and  Mr.  Evans  was  not  long  in  dis- 
covering its  beauty  and  its  strength. 

185 


Thirty-six  Characters 

He  found  out  that  its  principal  sounds  were 
thirty  six  in  number,  and  that  with  some  slight 
variation  and  a  few  affixes,  the  whole  could  be 
expressed.  After  much  study  and  many  experi- 
ments he  succeeded  in  arranging  them  in  rhyth- 
mic order,  so  that  they  could  be  much  more 
easily  committed  to  memory  than  the  alphabet. 
Having  mastered  the  sounds,  the  next  thing  was 
to  devise  signs  or  characters  to  represent  them. 
Among  his  other  acquirements,  Mr.  Evans  had 
quite  a  knowledge  of  phonography,  and  this  was 
now  found  to  be  of  great  use.  So,  after  a  good 
deal  of  experimenting,  he  decided  upon  the 
thirty-six  characters  which  we  here  append. 

When  the  discovery  thus  far  was  made,  great 
indeed  was  his  joy.  As  he  tested  them,  and 
wrote  down  in  them  the  conversation  and  utter- 
ances of  the  people,  and  above  all  when  he  found 
that  all  the  translations  thus  far  made  of  portions 
of  the  Word  of  God  and  of  some  beautiful 
hymns  could  really  be  expressed  more  accu- 
rately, as  regards  the  sounds,  than  by  the 
ordinary  alphabet,  his  rejoicing  was  almost  with- 
out measure. 

The  next  thing  was  to  make  his  invention  of 
practical  value.  Thus  far  what  had  been  done 
had  been  accomplished  with  the  pen,  this  of 
course  would  not  go  very  far,  and  so  the  next 
thing  was  to  get  it  in  type,  and  thus  be  able  to 
print  with  it.  But  a  more  unfortunate  mission- 
field  the  world  hardly  possessed  than  Norway 
House,  for  the  possession  of  the  requisites  to  set 

186 


Invention  of  the  Syllabic  Characters 
THE  CREE  SYLLABIC  ALPHABET. 


TNTTIALS.  SYLLABLES. 


P 
t 

k 
ch 
m 


a  e  oo  ah 

V  A  >  < 

V  A  >  < 

u  n  D  c 

q     p  d  b 

n     r  J  t 

n     r  J  L 

"D          a-  -D  Q. 

^         f^  r*  ^ 

-S        r^  ^  ^ 


FINALS. 


°   OW 

X  Christ 
'  P 

/  t 

V  k 
-ch 
c  m 
3  n 
-^  s 

^  r 

i  1 


The  dot  over  any  syllable  lengthens  the  vowel  sound. 
Thus,  La-  D  =  Manito,  the  Indian  name  for  the  Great 
Spirit,  or  God  ;  LL  =  Mama  ;  «  =  Papa. 

187 


Birch  Bark  for  Paper 

up  a  printing  press.  There  was  no  type,  no 
paper,  no  ink,  no  press,  not  even  a  building,  be- 
yond the  little  mission  house,  in  which  to  carry 
on  the  work.  But  Mr.  Evans'  ingenuity  and 
fertility  in  expedients  soon  made  him  master  of 
the  situation.  With  such  an  invention  in  his 
possession,  and  with  the  possibilities  of  ac- 
complishing such  glorious  results,  in  so  easily 
teaching  the  Indians  to  read  in  their  own  lan- 
guage the  Word  of  God,  he  set  to  work  to  do 
the  best  he  could  with  the  limited  materials  at  his 
disposal,  for  the  present;  certain  that  as  soon  as 
the  news  of  his  discovery  became  known  to  the 
outside  world,  material  assistance  would  be  forth- 
coming. 

So  remote  from  civilisation,  and  so  difficult  of 
access  was  Norway  House,  and  above  all,  so  ex- 
pensive was  it  to  get  in  supplies,  that  Mr.  Evans 
resolved  to  begin  with  the  resources  within  his 
reach.  The  material  he  used  for  the  manufacture 
of  his  type  was  the  thin  sheets  of  lead  which 
are  found  in  the  tea  chests.  This  he  begged  from 
the  fur  traders,  who  sell  large  quantities  of  tea  to 
the  Indians.  Having  carefully  carved  out  little 
models  of  his  characters,  he  made  casts  of  them 
in  soft  clay,  and  then  pouring  into  these  moulds 
the  melted  lead,  he  secured,  after  many  failures, 
type  sufficient  for  his  use.  He  made  his  ink  out 
of  the  soot  of  the  chimneys  mixed  with  sturgeon 
oil.  He  had  no  paper,  and  so  had  to  be  content 
with  birch  bark  as  a  substitute.  It  did  better  than 
a    person   would    first    imagine    it  would.     He 

188 


Invention  of  the  Syllabic  Characters 

manufactured  his  own  printing  press.  A  jack 
screw  used  generally  by  the  traders  for  the  pack- 
ing of  the  bales  of  furs,  was  kindly  loaned  him 
for  his  work  of  printing.  This  gave  him  the 
requisite  power,  and  so  with  these  primitive  ap- 
pliances, the  work  of  furnishing  the  Indians  por- 
tions of  Scripture  and  Hymns  in  their  own  lan- 
guage, began. 

The  beauty  of  these  Syllabic  Characters  is  that 
they  can  be  acquired  so  easily,  and  then  that 
when  this  is  accomplished,  the  art  of  reading  by 
them,  is  only  a  matter  of  a  very  few  days.  Each 
character  is  a  syllable,  as  the  name  indicates,  so 
there  are  just  as  many  characters  in  a  word  as 
there  are  syllables.  All  then  that  is  necessary 
for  the  Indians,  from  the  boys  and  girls  of  six  or 
eight  years  of  age,  up  to  the  old  men  and  women 
of  ninety,  is  just  to  master  the  syllabic  alphabet, 
and  then  begin  to  read.  There  is  no  spelling  re- 
quired. No  first  book  or  second  book;  no  dicta- 
tion lessons.  Then  there  are  no  cross  teachers  to 
say  to  the  class,  "1  am  sorry  so  many  words 
were  wrongly  spelt."  How  strange  this  sounds 
to  our  boys  and  girls,  this  being  able  to  read 
easily  and  correctly,  without  ever  having  to  spell 
a  word. 

It  is  a  marvellous  invention,  and  has  been  a 
benediction  to  thousands.  Great  indeed  was  the 
astonishment  of  the  Indians  when  this  discovery 
was  revealed  to  them.  There  were  diverse  im- 
pressions created.  When  those  who  had  become 
Christians,  and  had  thus  broken  the  claims  of 
189 


Birch  Bark  Could  "Talk" 

superstition,  had  the  method  explained  to  them 
on  their  visits  to  Rossville,  they  were  eager 
students,  and  were  soon  able  to  read  as  fast  as 
new  copies  could  be  made.  Not  only  this,  but 
they  became  teachers  themselves,  and  carried  to 
distant  hunting  camps  the  knowledge  they  had 
acquired,  and  gladly  explained  to  others  this 
wonderful  invention. 

With  a  rude  sort  of  stylus  or  wooden  pen,  they 
carefully  multiplied  copies  of  the  passages  of 
scripture  first  given  them  by  Mr.  Evans,  even  be- 
fore he  was  able  to  begin  his  crude  printing 
operations.  These  caused  intense  excitement,  as 
they  went  from  camp-fire  to  camp-fire,  and  from 
wigwam  to  wigwam  in  the  wilderness.  That 
birch  bark  could  "talk,"  and  above  all  that  it 
could  talk  about  the  Great  Spirit,  and  say  His 
words,  was  indeed  a  thing  of  mystery  and  as- 
tonishment. Nothing  else  for  a  time  could  be 
talked  about.  The  Christian  Indians  rejoiced,  but 
the  conjurers  and  medicine-men  were  enraged, 
and  declared  that  terrible  calamities  would  fol- 
low. Superstitious  Indians  were  frightened,  and 
nothing  could  induce  them  to  touch  the  magic 
birch  bark  that  could  thus  talk. 

The  one  great  absorbing  feeling  of  the  grand 
man  who  had  so  well  succeeded  in  his  work,  was 
gratitude  to  God,  who  had  enabled  him  with  the 
Divine  blessing,  thus  to  triumph  beyond  his  most 
sanguine  expectations,  in  putting  within  the  reach 
of  these  wandering  Indians,  the  power  of  learn- 
ing to  read  the  Bible  in  their  own  tongue.     As 

190 


u 


c/i 


H 


M 


< 

CC 


Invention  ot  the  Syllabic  Characters 

the  Spring  opened  the  next  year  after  the  dis- 
covery of  these  characters,  and  the  circulation  of 
portions  of  Scripture,  Mr.  Evans  was  delighted 
and  encouraged  by  the  numbers  of  men  and 
v^omen  and  children  too,  who  had  in  their  far- 
away hunting  lodges,  obtained  a  knowledge  of 
the  syllabics,  from  those  who  had  visited  the 
mission,  during  the  previous  winter,  when  they 
had  come  in  with  the  bales  of  furs. 

As  soon  as  possible,  after  their  arrival,  a  school 
was  organised,  and  all  were  invited  to  attend,  no 
matter  what  was  their  age.  On  a  large  black- 
board, made  with  his  own  hands,  Mr.  Evans 
marked  out  these  wonderful  characters,  and  there 
for  hours  every  day,  the  work  of  instruction  went 
on.  Some  could  not  attend  very  regularly.  The 
nets  had  to  be  visited,  and  fish  secured  for  food. 
Then  some  time  must  be  spent  in  preparing  land 
for  potatoes,  and  other  things,  for  the  missionary 
had  secured  seed  for  those  who  would  have  the 
gardens  ready  in  time.  But  school  was  going  on 
all  the  time,  and  now  there  were  many  teachers, 
for  each  Indian  was  ambitious  to  show  to  the  late 
arrivals  how  much  he  knew. 

When  the  printing  press  began  to  do  its  work, 
and  the  piles  of  beautiful  pieces  of  birch  bark 
which  the  industrious  women  had  collected, 
went  under  so  clean  and  white,  and  came  out  all 
covered  with  some  of  the  sweetest  passages  of 
the  divine  Word,  their  joy  knew  no  bounds. 
Quite  a  number  of  copies  of  the  first  set  were 
struck  off,  and  then  another  collection  of  beauti- 

191 


Books  of  Birch  Bark 

ful  verses  was  set  up,  and  printed  off  in  like 
manner.  This  went  on  until  a  dozen  or  so  of 
different  pages  were  printed.  These  the  happy 
people  stitched  together  with  deerskin  covers, 
and  thus  were  formed  the  first  books  among 
them. 

Long  ago  these  first  crude  little  volumes  disap- 
peared; but  they  served  their  purpose  well,  and 
were  a  joy  and  benediction  to  many.  They  were 
carried  back  to  their  distant  hunting  grounds,  and 
were  nightly  read  by  the  light  of  the  camp-fire. 
Pagan  Indians  who  came  in  to  gamble  as  in  pre- 
vious years,  were  awed  by  what  they  heard,  and 
while  some  mocked,  others  were  so  interested, 
that  they  too  mastered  these  Syllabics,  and  learned 
to  read,  and  afterward  to  pray.  Truly  "  the  Word 
of  the  Lord  was  precious  in  those  days." 

The  first  hymn  translated  by  Mr.  Evans  for 
these  Cree  Indians  and  printed  in  the  Syllabic 
Characters  is  here  given.  The  first  verse  in  Eng- 
lish being: 

"  Jesus  my  all  to  heaven  is  gone, 
He  whom  I  fix  my  hopes  upon ; 
His  path  I  see,  and  I'll  pursue 
The  narrow  way  till  Him  I  view." 

The  story  of  this  marvellous  invention  spread  far 
and  wide.  Scholars  in  America  and  Europe  heard 
of  it  with  great  interest.  The  English  Wesleyan 
Missionary  Society  sent  for  a  set  of  the  Syllabic 
Characters,  and  sending  them  to  a  type-foundry 
had  a  large  quantity  of  type  made.  These  with 
198 


Invention  of  the  Syllabic  Characters 

q'b"     -D>rCcro  L.M. 

Jeeus,  my  all,  to  heaven  is  gone. 

A'^AF^    bPA)"U'; 
A-S'    Ad    crLrr^\ 
6-"C    bA-AD"UV5. 

2  bCO    r^-Of^'^-o 

VdC    PA)"U<]-^; 
V<l-d    Ad    n'bQ.0 
b"PS'0    b^P"AC\ 

3  P^V-'^   a-CCQ.D-t>^ 

Lb  vbvnbL^ 

o-Pbb•Cq^^J^ 

l>K^    VLLr^AV. 

4  V    <]C    Q.Q.P"CL5, 

<1"P    a-dt^9T^"U3 ; 
r^'"   o-V'U^   VAU-' 
<3"CS    c^-S-    p-l"b<L^. 

5  Vb-    Lb    crr<3-U^ 

<c  Ar^  Lr"n'^3 

193 


Indian  Music 

a  good  hand  press,  roller,  ink,  paper  and  all  the 
other  essential  requisites,  in  addition  to  a  dona- 
tion of  five  hundred  pounds  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  a  building  of  sufficient  dimensions  for 
carrying  on  all  the  printing  operations,  they  sent 
out  to  Mr.  Evans.  These  things  all  arrived  in 
due  time,  although  it  was  slow  and  labourious 
work  getting  them  up  from  York  Factory,  where 
they  had  come  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
ship  from  London. 

Then  the  work  proceeded  more  rapidly.  Mr. 
Steinhauer,  with  John  Sinclair  and  others  raised 
up  in  the  country,  and  who  had  now,  thanks  to 
Mr.  Evans'  ability  and  industry,  acquired  quite  a 
good  education  in  English,  as  well  as  in  the  Syl- 
lables, were  able  to  render  a  good  deal  of  service. 
Translating,  type-setting  and  printing  went  on 
steadily,  and  soon  quite  lengthy  portions  of  the 
blessed  book  were  bound  in  little  volumes  and 
distributed  among  the  people.  The  good  that 
was  thus  done  eternity  alone  can  fully  reveal, 

A  catechism  was  also  printed,  and  was  well 
received  and  studied  by  young  and  old.  Familiar 
hymns,  full  of  the  gospel,  were  translated,  and 
proved  a  blessing  and  a  joy  to  multitudes. 

The  Indians  have  no  music  of  their  own  worth 
preservation.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans  were  both 
sweet  singers,  and  so  they  taught  the  people  to 
sing  the  old  tunes  to  these  translations  of  the 
sweet  words,  with  which  they  have  been  ever 
associated.  Very  quickly  did  the  people  learn 
these  tunes,  and  it  was  ever  a  source  of  astonish- 
194 


Invention  of  the  Syllabic  Character 

ment,  as  well  as  pleasure,  for  the  passing  stranger, 
to  hear  how  grandly  the  people  here  could  sing. 

Still  farther  travelled  the  reports  of  this  won- 
derful invention,  until  at  length  other  churches  at 
other  mission  fields  inquired  about  it,  and  gladly 
was  the  knowledge  of  it  imparted  by  its  gener- 
ous inventor. 

The  time  at  length  came  when  the  calls  upon 
Mr.  Evans  from  outside  missionary  work  were  so 
numerous  that  he  was  obliged  to  be  away  often 
for  months  at  a  time,  on  his  extensive  journey- 
ings  of  some  thousands  of  miles,  through  sum- 
mer storms  and  winter's  terrible  gales.  That  the 
work  at  Rossville  might  not  suffer,  he  called  to 
his  help  one  who  had  been  placed  at  another  post 
with  the  hope  that  he  there  would  have  suc- 
ceeded, as  did  Mr.  Rundle  in  the  Saskatchewan, 
or  as  Mr.  Evans  had  at  Norway  House.  Brought 
to  Rossville,  and  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Evans  who  ever  treated  him  with  the  greatest 
kindness,  he  did  good  service  for  a  time,  but  even- 
tually he  turned  in  the  dark  and  cloudy  days 
against  his  best  friend,  and  not  only  tried  to  crush 
him  to  the  earth,  but  had  the  audacity  in  after 
years  to  claim  the  invention  of  the  Syllabic  Char- 
acters as  his  own  invention,  and  even  had  his 
name  put  on  the  title  page  of  the  Cree  Syllabic 
Bible,  when  the  fact  is  that  he  never  even  saw 
the  characters  until  long  after  the  happy  converts 
of  James  Evans  were  reading  portions  of  the 
Scripture  and  hymns  printed  in  them  in  the 
unique  birch  bark  books.     We  do  not  put  his 

195 


Syllables  Used  by  Other  Tribes 

name  here  on  our  pages;  though  long  ago,  both 
he  and  James  Evans  passed  into  the  presence  of 
the  Judge  of  all  the  earth. 

The  Syllabic  Characters  are  still  in  use.  The 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  now  furnish 
all  these  northern  missions  with  Bibles  and  Testa- 
ments free  of  cost.  Hundreds  of  Indians  are 
reading  out  of  them  every  day  of  the  year.  Mis- 
sionaries to  other  tribes  have  utilised  these  Syl- 
labics  for  other  languages,  by  adding  additional 
signs  for  sounds  not  foHnd  among  the  Crees. 
Methodists,  Episcopalians,  Moravians,  Roman 
Catholics  and  others  use  these  Syllabics  of  James 
Evans  and  find  them  of  incalculable  value. 

All  honour  to  the  man  who  invented  them! 
After  seeing  the  ease  with  which  pagan  bands 
could  acquire  a  knowledge  of  them,  even  when 
only  marked  with  a  burnt  stick  from  our  camp- 
fire  on  the  side  of  a  granite  rock,  and  then  from 
that  little  knowledge,  by  perseverance,  learning 
in  a  few  days  to  read  the  Bible  with  ease  and  de- 
light, we  bring  our  wreath  of  immortelles,  and 
with  thankfulness  to  God  for  giving  such  a 
helper  to  those  Indians  and  to  the  world,  we 
gladly  give  him  the  name  he  deserves  above  all 
others  who  there  have  toiled, — the  name  of  "the 
Apostle  of  the  North," 


196 


XV 

MR.    EVANS'  JOURNALS 

Mr.  Evans'  Journals — Extracts — Proposed  journeys — York 
Factory — Boats  coming  up  the  Nelson — Oxford  House — Nor- 
way House — Meeting  Rundle — Work  on  Norway  House  Mis- 
sion— Making  the  Syllabic  Characters — Testimonies  of  the  In- 
dians— The  Stereotype  Plate — Indian  boys  reading  the  printed 
characters. 

It  is  a  matter  of  profound  regret  that  the 
greater  portion  of  Mr.  Evans'  journals  were  de- 
stroyed by  fire.  What  remains  can  only  be 
spoken  of  as  "extracts"  extending  over  certain 
years.  They  do  not  record  some  of  his  greatest 
journeys,  nor  his  grandest  triumphs.  We  give, 
here  and  elsewhere,  some  little  part  of  that  which 
has  been  saved.  The  natural  modesty  of  the 
man  has  caused  him  to  leave  unwritten  much 
that  could  and  should  have  been  recorded  of  the 
toils  and  sufferings  endured.  From  his  Indian 
travelling  companions,  the  writer  has  had  to  ob- 
tain much  of  his  information.  The  extracts  from 
his  journals,  here  presented,  show  us  his  difficul- 
ties and  perplexities  in  bringing  to  perfection  his 
invention  of  the  Syllabic  Characters.  There  are 
also  some  references  to  the  first-fruits  of  the 
harvest  of  the  multitudes  of  precious  souls  he 
was  instrumental  in  winning  for  Christ.     This 

197 


"  Journeyings  Oft " 

latter  work,  the  winning  of  souls  for  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  was  ever  his  highest,  sweetest  joy. 

"Since  my  arrival  in  the  country  I  have  visited 
York  Factory,  of  which  I  made  the  committee 
aware  last  autumn.  On  my  return  I  remained  at 
Norway  House  until  December,  and  I  left  early  in 
that  month  to  visit  the  posts  within  my  reach. 
During  the  winter  I  visited  Moose  Lake,  the  Pas 
Cumberland  House,  Shoal  River,  Fort  Pelly, 
Beaver  Creek,  Red  River  on  my  way  to  Fort 
Alexander  and  Beren's  River,  and  returned  to 
Norway  House  at  the  latter  end  of  March.  I  was 
received  at  every  post  of  the  Honourable  Company 
with  the  greatest  kindness,  and  experienced 
every  attention  from  the  gentlemen  in  charge.  I 
endeavoured  to  discharge  the  duties  incumbent 
upon  me  with  an  eye  to  the  glory  of  God  in  the 
salvation  of  sinners;  and  trust  that  the  fruits  of 
my  humble  labours  will  appear  in  the  day  of 
eternity. 

"1  intend,  by  the  divine  blessing,  to  visit  the 
following  places  during  a  journey  which  it  is  my 
purpose  to  commence;  namely,  Cumberland, 
Carlton,  Fort  Pitt  and  Edmonton,  where  I  hope 
to  meet  my  good  brother  the  Rev.  Robert  T. 
Rundle.  After  spending  a  few  weeks  in  that 
vicinity,  I  shall  proceed  by  winter  conveyance 
(snowshoes  and  dog-carriages)  to  Fort  jasper, 
Assiniboine,  Lesser  Slave  Lake,  Dunvegan,  Ver- 
million, Chippewayan,  Fond  du  Lac,  La  Crosse, 
Green  Lake  and  back  to  Carlton.  Thence  to 
Norway  House  by  the  Saskatchev/an  or  Atha- 

198 


Mr.  Evans'  Journals 

basca  boats,  reaching  Norway  House  in  June  or 
July,  1842.  This  journey  is  undertaken  with  the 
decided  approbation  of  the  Governor  in  Chief, 
Sir  George  Simpson,  who  kindly  assured  me  that 
he  would  himself  in  passing  the  Saskatchewan, 
see  that  every  preparation  should  be  made  for  me 
to  proceed  thence.  Before  my  return,  should  I 
succeed  in  my  proposed  tour,  I  shall  travel  about 
six  thousand  miles.  During  this  time  I  hope  to 
preach  the  everlasting  gospel  to  hundreds  who 
never  heard  the  joyful  sound,  and  I  humbly  trust 
that,  in  a  short  period,  not  a  post  belonging  to 
the  Honourable  Company  will  be  found  where  the 
glad  news  of  salvation  by  Christ  shall  not  have 
been  proclaimed.  I  shall,  I  feel  convinced,  have 
the  cooperation  of  my  brethren  here  and  of  the 
committee  at  home,  and  the  unlimited  aid  of  the 
Honourable  Company's  officers  in  carrying  out 
this  great  object.  I  shall  likewise  become  better 
acquainted  with  the  state,  wants,  and  general 
character  of  the  country,  as  well  as  with  the 
number,  disposition,  and  language  of  the  natives. 
I  feel  assured  of  the  divine  protection  and  blessing. 
"  I  am  most  happy  to  assure  the  committee 
that  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  young 
brethren  who  have  been  appointed  to  this  place, 
have  faithfully  laboured,  and  are,  with  true  mis- 
sionary zeal  and  ardour,  prosecuting  the  great 
work  of  saving  souls,  by  preaching  and  travel- 
ling and  visiting  the  poor  heathen  in  their 
wretched  wigwams,  and  teaching  young  and  old 
the  way  of  life. 

199 


Fire-water  Prohibited 

"  Norway  House  station  includes  York  Factory, 
Oxford  House,  Moose  Lake,  Cumberland  House, 
Beren's  River,  and  Nelson  River.  This  mission  I 
have  reason  to  acknowledge  with  deep  humility 
has  been  much  blessed  by  Almighty  God,  and 
the  labours  of  His  servants  crowned  with  signal 
success.  The  total  number  of  persons  who  had 
been  received  into  the  Christian  Church  by  bap- 
tism at  Norway  House  and  in  those  ports  which 
1  have  named,  is  one  hundred  and  ninety-three,  of 
which  seventy-seven  are  adults.  The  number  of 
marriages  on  the  register  is  twenty-seven. 

"We  have  three  classes  at  this  station  com- 
posed of  seventy-three  persons,  about  half  of 
whom  have  been  received  into  full  membership. 
The  remainder  are  on  trial  and  are  still  unbap- 
tised.  We  have  great  cause  for  gratitude  to 
Almighty  God  that  we  are  saved  from  what  is 
the  scourge  of  the  poor  Indians  in  Canada,  the 
fire-water,  (rum);  the  use  of  this  being  by  the 
Honourable  Company  prohibited  to  a  great  extent 
in  the  country,  an  arrangement  equally  wise  and 
benevolent. 

"I  shall  copy  from  my  journal  a  few  extracts 
which  may  enable  the  committee  to  form  a  judg- 
ment of  the  state  of  the  country,  the  nature  of 
the  work,  and  the  manner  in  which  my  time  has 
been  occupied. 

"August  1 8th,  1840. — 1  left  York  Factory  at 
noon  having  twenty-one  persons  in  the  boat  and 
a  large  cargo. 

"  19th. — The  boat  has  to-day  been  hauled  up 
200 


Mr.  Evans'  Journals 

the  stream  against  a  current  of  very  shallow 
water,  frequently  grounding.  1  enjoyed  much 
peace  of  mind  and  an  assurance  of  the  divine 
favour  and  protection.    We  made  eighteen  miles, 

"22d. — We  have  had  rain  every  day  and  hav- 
ing no  shelter  in  the  boat,  have  been  anything 
but  comfortable. 

"Sunday,  23d. — Raining  in  torrents.  Prayers 
at  ten  o'clock  and  at  eight  in  the  evening  as 
usual. 

"24th. — I  met  five  boats  from  Mackenzie 
River;  a  region  where  the  gospel  was  never 
heard,  and  where  men  are  in  darkness. 

"September  ist. — I  found  Mr.  Grant  at  Oxford 
House  anxious  to  make  my  night's  stay  as  com- 
fortable as  possible,  1  preached  to  the  Honour- 
able Company's  officers  and  servants,  and  several 
natives  attended.  At  the  close  of  the  service  1 
baptised  six  adults,  who  expressed  a  determina- 
tion to  forsake  sin  and  cleave  to  the  Lord,  and 
solemnised  two  marriages, 

"  2d,— 1  left  Oxford  House,  Crossing  the  port- 
age I  saw  two  Indian  graves  neatly  roofed  with 
birch  bark,  and  the  totem  or  family  name  marked 
thereon  with  charcoal  in  several  places,  they  hav- 
ing belonged  to  the  Reindeer  tribe.  The  ashes 
and  coals  at  the  head  of  the  grave  showed  that 
they  had  been  recently  visited  by  their  friends  and 
the  "  cheebie  weekoontoowin,"  or  spirit  feast 
held  for  them.  This  custom  prevails  among  the 
pagan  Indians,  They  suppose  that  the  spirit  of 
the  departed  lingers  about  the  place  where  the 
201 


A  Two  Months'  Journey 

body  is  deposited  and  partakes,  in  a  spiritual 
manner,  of  the  food  which  the  relatives  eat  on 
the  spot.  They  likewise  throw  a  small  piece  of 
the  victuals  into  the  fire,  and  pour  a  libation  of 
liquor,  when  they  can  procure  it. 

"  3th. — Reached  Norway  House  in  the  evening, 
grateful  to  Almighty  God  for  His  continued  mercy 
and  preserving  care  amidst  the  dangers  to  which, 
in  these  shallow  and  rapid  waters,  we  are  always 
exposed. 

"  7th. — To-day  my  worthy  brother  Rundle  left 
by  the  Saskatchewan  boat  for  Edmonton.  About 
two  months,  with  God's  blessing,  will  bring  him 
thither,  during  which  time  he  must  sleep  on  the 
ground,  wet  or  dry,  not  unfrequently  without 
erecting  his  cloth  tent,  as  sometimes  it  cannot  be 
pitched.  Rain  or  fair,  hot  or  cold,  he  must  sit  in 
the  open  boat,  and  look  for  present  and  eternal 
comfort.  Everything  which  the  fort  could  sup- 
ply was  kindly  furnished  in  order  to  make  his 
voyage  as  comfortable  as  circumstances  would 
permit.  May  God  bless  him  and  make  him  a 
blessing,  and  have  him  under  His  watchful  eye  by 
day  and  by  night! 

"  15th. — 1  commenced  a  school  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river  from  Norway  House  fort,  and 
had  about  twenty-five  scholars  anxious  to  learn. 
I  am  teaching  them  to  read  the  English  and  their 
own  tongue. 

"Sunday,  20th. — 1  baptised  four  adults  who 
witnessed  a  good  confession  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
Great  grace  rested  upon  the  ordinance,  and  the 
202 


Mr.  Evans'  Journals 

blessing  of  God  was  with  His  people.  About 
sixty  persons  were  present. 

"25th. — 1  commenced  clearing  the  point  of  land 
selected  for  the  settlement  of  the  Indians  about 
three  miles  from  the  fort,  and  preparing  the  ground 
for  the  erection  of  mission  premises  next  sum- 
mer. The  spot  is  thickly  covered  with  small  pop- 
lars and  underbrush,  but  patience  and  persever- 
ance will  soon  let  in  the  light  of  heaven.  May 
the  hearts  of  the  poor  heathen  as  easily  yield  to 
the  gospel,  and  this  spiritual  wilderness  become 
the  garden  of  the  Lord! 

' '  Sunday,  27th. — 1  preached  twice  to  the  Indians 
and  once  to  the  whites  in  the  fort;  at  six  a.  m., 
and  eleven  and  at  four  o'clock.  At  seven  I  held 
a  prayer-meeting. 

"28th. — For  a  fortnight  I  have  been  endeavour- 
ing to  cast  type  to  print  the  Cree  language,  but 
every  attempt  hitherto  made  has  failed.  I  have 
no  proper  materials,  neither  type  metal  nor  any 
other  thing  requisite.  I  hope,  however,  to  con- 
quer the  difficulties,  and  to  begin  printing  the  Cree 
language  in  a  few  days  or  months  at  the  furthest. 

"30th. — I  cut  types  in  lead  of  two  characters, 
and  1  took  moulds  in  clay,  chalk,  putty,  sand,  and 
tried  some  other  fruitless  experiments. 

"Sunday,  October  4th. — This  evening,  after 
preaching,  1  met  a  class;  and  the  clear  and  spirit- 
ual testimony  of  several  of  these  until  lately  poor 
and  benighted  sons  of  the  forest  was  heart-cheer- 
ing, and  of  the  most  encouraging  nature.  Am  1 
discouraged?    No!    'The   Word   of  God    shall 

203 


Indian  Testimonies 

have  free  course  and  be  glorified,'  and  I  believe, 
»  as  I  believe  in  my  own  conversion,  of  which  1 
have  no  doubt,  that  God  will  soon  give  these 
heathen  to  His  Son  for  an  inheritance,  and  'the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  His  possession.' 
'Thy  Kingdom  come!' 

"One  man  spoke  as  follows:  'Last  summer  1 
visited  Red  River,  when  for  the  first  time  I  heard 
the  news  of  these  good  words.  I  felt  that  I  was 
a  great  sinner,  and  that  1  was  in  darkness  and  in 
the  broad  road  to  eternal  punishment.  I  learned 
very  little.  I  heard  that  1  must  pray  to  the  Great 
Spirit  through  His  Son,  whose  name  I  could  not 
remember,  although  I  tried  very  much  to  do  so. 
I  came  home.  I  went  often  back  there  into  the 
swamp  and  cried  very  much.  O,  my  heart  was 
very,  very  heavy!  I  tried  often  to  pray  to  the 
Great  Spirit  to  pity  me,  a  poor  Indian.  I  said, 
"Great  Spirit,  I  hear  that  you  wish  to  save  the 
poor  sinner,  I  wish  to  pray,  but  1  do  not  know 
your  Son's  name.  O  pity  me  and  forgive  all  my 
sins  and  crooked  life."'  He  added:  '  I  had  no 
minister  here  at  that  time  to  teach  me  as  we  now 
have,  and  1  often  wept  much  when  we  went  to 
bed,  and  could  not  sleep,  because  1  had  no  one  to 
teach  me.  The  Great  Spirit  did  pity  me,  for 
when  we  had  no  minister.  He  sent  me  a  dream 
that  encouraged  me  very  much.  One  night  last 
winter  1  dreamed  that  I  saw  two  roads.  One 
was  very  wide  and  full  of  white  people  and  In- 
dians; they  were  very  wicked,  swearing  and 
fighting.     The  other  road  was  only  a  foot-path, 

204 


Mr.  Evans'  Journals 

and  I  saw  only  very  few  persons  following  each 
other's  trail;  some  were  singing,  and  they  went 
very  fast  and  looked  very  happy.  1  prayed  in  my 
sleep  that  the  Great  Spirit  would  let  me  go  with 
them.  When  I  awoke  I  thanked  Him  for  this 
dream.  O  now  I  have  more  than  a  dream  to 
bless  me!  O  yes,  I  have  my  poor  heart  cheered 
by  the  good  words.  When  I  pray  1  am  so  very, 
very  happy.  O  I  cannot  tell  how  much  I  am 
blessed.  I  love  the  Son  of  God,  Jesus  Christ. 
I  shall  never  more  forget  His  great  name.  I  am 
very  happy  to-day.' 

"Here  tears  of  joy  stopped  his  simple  story, 
and  his  heaving  bosom  and  cheerful  countenance 
told  what  he  could  not  utter. 

"  An  old  man  eighty  years  of  age  said,  '  O,  but 
I  have  been  a  great  sinner.  I  have  walked  in  the 
dark  road!  My  head  is  like  the  hilltop  in  win- 
ter, and  I  shall  soon  be  under  the  earth.  O  I  am 
so  thankful  that  I  have  heard  the  good  word!  I 
hear  with  my  eyes  wide  open,  and  sometimes 
my  heart  is  very  soft  when  I  hear  about  the  love 
of  the  Son  of  God.  I  think  He  has  been  very 
merciful  to  me  to  allow  me  to  survive  many  of 
my  poor  relatives,  who  are  gone  to  the  earth; 
that  I  might  hear  this  good  news.  If  I  had  died 
before  it  came,  I  should  certainly  have  perished! 
for  I  have  been,  as  you  all  know,  a  great  sinner. 
But  now  I  am  pardoned.  O,  now  I  have  the 
gladness  in  my  heart!  I  am  old;  I  cannot  hunt. 
I  wish  for  nothing  now  but  to  see  Jesus  Christ. 
I  am  sure  I  shall  love  Him  yet  more  when  I  see 

205 


Cutting  out  the  Cree  Alphabet 

Him.  His  Spirit  tells  me  I  am  His.  He  blesses 
me  daily,  and  all  my  heart  wishes  to  serve  Him. 
I  wish  very  very  much,  that  all  my  poor  people 
everywhere  could  hear  the  good  words  of  the 
Great  Spirit  before  they  die.' 

"  13th. — I  cast  a  plate  of  hardened  lead,  pol- 
ished it  and  commenced  cutting  the  Cree  alpha- 
bet, making  a  sort  of  stereotype  plate, 

"  15th. — Last  night  I  finished  the  alphabet  plate, 
and  to-day  printed  a  few  sheets.  Several  boys 
know  all  the  letters,  having  written  the  alphabet 
for  each;  and  they  are  much  pleased  with  their 
new  books,  but  not  much  more  so  than  I  am  my- 
self. 

"  i6th. — 1  went  to  the  point,  surveyed  the  land, 
running  lines  north  and  south,  giving  each  person 
two  chains  in  width,  and  from  eighteen  to 
twenty-seven  in  length;  being  as  much  as  the 
short  season  will  permit  them  to  cultivate. 

"Sunday,  i8th. — I  preached  at  six,  eleven,  and 
three;  and  at  seven  held  a  band  meeting.  In  the 
forenoon  I  baptised  four  persons,  who  professed 
their  faith  in  Christ  and  belief  of  God's  word, 
and  their  resolution  by  His  grace,  to  live  to  His 
honour  and  glory,  and  to  renounce  forever  all  their 
heathen  superstitions,  and  forsake  their  munne- 
doos  (gods).  Several  spoke  in  the  evening  of 
having  great  peace  with  God. 

"  19th. — Several  of  the  boys  are  beginning  to 
read  the  written  hymns  in  the  Cree  character; 
and  1  feel  encouraged  to  think  I  can  print  them  in 
a  few  days. 

206 


Mr.  Evans'  Journals 

"Sunday,  November  8th. — I  baptised  three 
adults  and  one  child.  Some  others  desired 
baptism  but  I  deferred  the  ordinance  until  they 
had  received  further  instruction.  Surely  the  Lord 
'  hath  set  before  us  an  open  door,  which  no  man 
can  shut.'     Praised  be  His  ever  blessed  name! 

"  I  ith. — My  types  answer  well.  The  hymn  be- 
ginning with  'Jesus  my  all  to  heaven  is  gone,' 
is  in  the  press.  I  have  to-day  struck  off  three 
hundred  copies  of  the  first  three  verses,  making 
a  small  page.  I  have  got  excellent  type,  consid- 
ering the  country  and  materials;  they  make  at 
least  a  tolerably  good  im.pression.  The  letter  or 
character  I  cut  in  finely  polished  oak.  I  filed  out 
of  one  side  of  an  inch  square  iron  bar  the  square 
body  of  the  type;  and  after  placing  the  bar  with 
the  notch  over  the  letter,  1  applied  another  pol- 
ished bar  to  the  face  of  the  mould,  and  poured  in 
the  lead,  after  it  had  been  repeatedly  melted  in 
order  to  harden  it.  These  required  a  little  dress- 
ing on  the  face  and  filing  to  the  uniform  square 
and  length,  but  they  answer  well. 

"  17th. — I  have  to-day.  struck  off  two  hundred 
and  fifty  copies  of  the  hymn,  beginning,  '  Behold 
the  Saviour  of  mankind,'  with  a  chorus  for  oc- 
casional use,  'Hallelujah  to  the  Lamb,'  etc.  My 
press  is  very  rude  but  I  am  anticipating  better 
days. 

"December  3d. — I  printed  the  hymn  begin- 
ning, *  Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow.'  The  Indians 
and  children  sing  these  well  and  several  read 
some  with  some  fluency.     The  short  time  which 

207 


No  Learning  to  Spell 

is  required  to  learn  to  read  and  to  write,  arises 
from  there  being  no  such  thing  as  learning  to 
spell,  every  character  in  the  alphabet  being  a 
syllable,  so  that  when  these  are  learned,  all  is 
learned.  Several  of  the  boys  and  young  men 
can  write  any  word  in  the  language,  seldom 
committing  an  error.  I  have  now  printed  about 
two  thousand  pages  of  hymns,  etc.,  and  on  my 
return  from  my  winter  tour  by  God's  blessing  I 
shall  print  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Creed,  Com- 
mandments, and  the  first  chapter  of  St,  Matthew's 
gospel;  not  forgetting  the  rules  of  our  society." 


208 


XVI 

WINTER  JOURNEY   TO  SASKATCHEWAN 

The  journals  continued— Winter  journey— To  Saskatchewan 
district—"  Had  not  heard  a  sermon  for  thirty  years " — 
Meeting  Mr.  Budd— Celestial  phenomena  around  the  sun — 
Salt  manufacture— Simple  prayer  and  simple  faith— Return  to 
Norway  House. 

We  devote  this  chapter  to  some  additional  ex- 
tracts from  Mr.  Evans'  journal.  They  give  us, 
from  his  own  pen,  some  account  of  winter  trav- 
elling by  dog-train.  As  his  routes  on  these 
journeys  lay  south  and  southwest  of  Norway 
House,  the  coldest  weather  he  experienced  was 
only  forty-two  degrees  below  zero.  This  was 
surely  cold  enough  for  any  white  men  to  endure. 
But  he  had  it  much  colder  when  he  made  his 
more  dangerous  tours  to  the  north. 

This  one  tour  extended,  as  we  shall  see,  over  a 
period  of  more  than  three  months.  It  gives  us 
glimpses  into  the  methods  of  travel,  which,  else- 
where, we  have  more  fully  described.  But  sel- 
dom does  he  refer  to  his  wintry  camp,  and  then 
only  when  it  was  about  the  best  one  he  had  dur- 
ing the  whole  route.  Often,  after  he  and  his 
brave  men  left  the  forest  country,  they  had  to 
sleep  in  regions  where  the  only  trees  were  aspen 
poplars.  These  gave  no  help  or  protection  from 
the  biting,  penetrating  winds,  or  in  making  the 

209 


Venison-Balls 

camp.  They  furnished  very  poor  fuel  for  cook- 
ing, and  but  little  warmth.  In  such  camps  there 
were  no  pine  bushes  to  put  under  the  robes 
for  a  bed,  for  the  missionary  or  his  dogs.  The 
tasty  venison-balls  that  could  be  carried  for  food, 
made  by  the  loving  hands  of  Mrs.  Evans,  would 
not  last  very  long  on  such  a  trip,  and  so  the  mis- 
sionary had  to  fall  back  with  his  men  and  live 
on  the  pemmican  and  fat  meat. 

While  Mr.  Evans'  great  work  was  the  evangel- 
isation of  the  Indians,  he  had  the  great  joy  of 
preaching  the  gospel  to  whites,  some  of  whom 
for  long  years  had  never  heard  a  sermon.  The 
pathetic  story  which  he  gives  of  the  man  who 
had  never  heard  a  sermon  for  thirty  years,  and 
his  earnest  desire,  as  well  as  that  of  his  wife,  for 
salvation,  is  most  touching. 

On  one  of  his  visits  to  one  of  these  remote 
places  where  no  missionary  had  ever  preceded 
him,  he  first  married  a  man  and  woman,  then 
baptised  them,  and  their  family  of  six  children 
all  in  the  same  day.  They  had  never  been  legally 
married,  for  the  simple  reason  that  there  had 
never  come  into  that  remote  region  anyone  quali- 
fied to  perform  the  ceremony.  Surely  it  was 
time  that  such  places  should  be  visited! 

This  most  interesting  journal  continues  as  fol- 
lows: 

"December    9th. — I    am    preparing    for    my 

winter  journey,  hoping  to  reach  Norway  House 

again  in  April.     This  route  will  cover  a  tract  of 

ground  over  two  thousand  miles:  a  long  winter 

210 


Winter  Journey  to  Saskatchewan 

journey,  but  I  can  implicitly  trust  in  Him  who 
says,  'As  the  day,  so  shall  thy  strength  be.'  1 
hope  during  my  travelling  to  dispense  the  word 
of  eternal  life  to  many  who  have  not  heard  'the 
joyful  sound.' 

"Sunday,  13th. — I  preached  to  my  little  flock, 
and  endeavoured  to  encourage  them  to  trust  in 
God,  and  to  be  faithful  during  my  absence. 

"  14th. — I  left  Norway  House  accompanied  by 
my  interpreter  and  two  Indians.  In  passing  the 
Indian  village,  the  men,  women  and  children, 
flocked  down  to  the  ice  and  bade  me  adieu, 
while  I  commended  them  to  God  and  His  grace. 
I  made  eight  miles  of  lake  travelling  and  three 
miles  in  the  wilderness,  after  which  I  encamped 
for  the  night.  Our  encampment  is  made  by 
scraping  away  the  snow,  cutting  a  few  pine 
bushes  and  spreading  them  for  a  bed,  and  by 
turning  before  the  fire,  we  can  generally  keep 
one  side  warm  at  a  time.  The  first  thing  on  ar- 
riving is  to  unharness  the  dogs,  of  which  we 
have  seven.  The  camp  is  then  made,  and  wood 
collected  for  the  night.  The  dogs  are  fed  soon 
after  arriving  and  a  bed  of  brush  spread  for 
them,  when,  being  weary  after  their  day's  travel 
of  from  thirty  to  seventy  miles,  a  load  of  from 
one  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  pounds 
on  each  sled  they  lie  down.  Our  carriages  carry 
each  about  three  hundred  pounds,  and  are  drawn 
where  nothing  but  dogs  could  take  them;  there 
being  no  road  but  through  the  tangled  brake  and 
over  piles  of  falling  and  decaying  timber.  The 
311 


Carioles  and  Supplies 

sleds  and  carioles  are  nothing  more  than  two 
half-inch  oak  boards,  about  eight  feet  long  and 
seven  or  eight  inches  broad,  stitched  together 
with  thongs  of  deerskin  and  strengthened  with 
a  few  light  pieces  of  wood  as  crossbars.  These 
sleds  being  turned  up  in  front  are  drawn  over 
logs  and  other  impediments,  but  not  without 
frequent  assistance  from  the  driver. 

"Our  supper  consists  of  some  venison  balls. 
These  are  made  by  chopping  the  meat  and  mix- 
ing with  it  a  little  tallow.  I  need  scarcely  say 
that  these  are  frozen.  Our  milk  we  carry  in  a 
bag,  breaking  off  pieces  as  we  require  it.  The 
men  have  a  supply  of  pemmican,  a  kind  of  port- 
able provision  made  of  buffaloes'  meat,  dried  and 
pounded  and  mixed  with  tallow.  The  dogs  are 
fed  on  the  same,  but  of  an  inferior  quality  to- 
gether with  some  frozen  fish.  The  thermometer 
seven  and  a  half  below  zero.  Blowing  fresh, 
wind  northwest. 

"15th. — I  started  at  four  a,  m.  Thermometer 
six  and  a  half.  1  crossed  a  deep  bay  of  Lake 
Winnipeg,  passed  through  a  point  of  thick 
woods,  much  fallen,  which  rendered  the  walking 
in  snowshoes  of  about  four  and  a  half  feet  long 
and  twenty-two  inches  broad,  very  tedious. 
Thermometer  eight. 

•'  16th. — I  crossed  the  traverse  of  Lake  Winni- 
peg. Wind  and  snow.  A  very  severe  day. 
Thermometer  ten.  1  had  a  bad  headache.  We 
were  late  before  we  could  find  the  requisites  to 
make  an  encampment.  Our  dogs  to-day  became 
S12 


Winter  Journey  to  Saskatchewan 

footsore  from  the  roughness  of  the  ice,  and  have 
been  duly  shod.  We  carry  about  forty  small 
bags,  in  which  their  feet  are  thrust  whenever 
the  snow  becomes  crusted.     I  lay  down  in  peace. 

"  17th. — 1  started  at  daylight,  being  unable  to 
move  sooner  through  these  thick  swamps.  1 
crossed  five  small  lakes  of  a  few  miles  each  in 
length.     Thermometer  four  below  zero. 

"  i8th. — A  cold  night.  Thermometer  twenty- 
five,  having  fallen  twenty-one  degrees  since  last 
night.  We  made  Moose  Lake  at  three  o'clock. 
We  crossed  two  bays  and  encamped  on  a  bleak 
point,  the  wind  blowing  hard.  Thermometer 
eighteen  below  zero. 

"Sunday,  20th. — We  held  divine  service  this 
morning.  1  preached  from  John  iii.  16.  Several 
appeared  deeply  impressed  with  the  blessed 
truths,  and  at  the  close  of  the  service  seven  chil- 
dren were  presented  for  baptism.  We  held  a 
prayer-meeting  in  the  evening.  Thermometer 
six." 

When  Mr.  Evans  visited  the  vast  fertile  region 
known  as  the  Saskatchewan  District  he  found  a 
very  different  condition  of  things  from  what 
now  exists  there.     His  words  are  as  follows: 

''Saskatchewan  Station.  This  is  a  station  of 
great  importance,  being  situated  in  the  heart  of 
the  plain  country  where  numerous  bands  of  In- 
dians roam  in  the  midst  of  plenty.  Perhaps  no 
portion  of  the  human  race  in  an  uncivilised  state 
are  more  independent  than  these  people.  The 
buffalo  and  other  animals  being  numerous,  they 

213 


An  Independent  People 

are  seldom  if  ever  subjected  to  those  privations 
under  which  the  Wood  Indians  suffer.  The  cli- 
mate likewise  is  more  favourable;  indeed  every- 
thing connected  with  their  station  gives  it  an 
importance  which  demands  our  utmost  energies 
in  order  to  push  successfully  the  great  object  we 
have  in  view. 

"The  gospel  is  the  only  instrument  by  which 
the  prejudices  of  these  people  can  be  overcome, 
their  manners  changed,  their  social  state  improved, 
and  their  souls  saved.  In  many  instances  such  is 
the  extreme  poverty  of  the  Indians  that  powerful 
arguments,  founded  on  their  increasing  temporal 
comfort,  consequent  on  embracing  Christianity 
which  leaches  industry,  economy  and  a  provident 
forethought,  may  be  advanced  by  the  missionary 
which  not  unfrequently,  under  the  divine  blessing, 
operate  in  conjunction  with  the  gospel  in  dis- 
posing the  heart  to  listen  to  the  truths  of  our  holy 
religion. 

"  But  here  an  abundance  of  food,  in  many  cases 
a  deeply  rooted  prejudice,  a  haughty  independent 
spirit,  and  a  fondly  cherished  idea  that  war  and 
horse-stealing  are  the  most  glorious  pursuits  for 
the  red  man,  compel  us  to  make  a  vigourous  attack 
on  the  heart  as  the  citadel  of  sin  which  can  only 
be  savingly  wrought  upon,  first  or  last,  by  that 
which  alone  proves  'the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation unto  every  one  that  believeth.' 

"22d. — I  reached  the  Pas  where  I  found  Mr. 
Budd,  who  is  employed  by  the  Church  Mission- 
ary Society  as  teacher.     He  has  a  small  school  at 

214 


Winter  Journey  to  Saskatchewan 

this  place.  At  his  request  I  preached  to  the  In- 
dians and  others  present,  and  was  gratified  to  hear 
several  of  the  former  assent  to  the  truths  deliv- 
ered. Mr.  Budd  complains  of  strong  opposition, 
and  labours  under  some  discouragements.  He  ap- 
pears to  be  an  excellent  young  man.  I  gave  him 
such  encouragement  as  I  would  offer  to  any  of 
our  own  teachers,  and  am  satisfied  that  a  mutual 
feeling  of  esteem  existed  between  us.  Ther- 
mometer two. 

"24th. — I  reached  Cumberland  House  on  the 
Saskatchewan  River  and  found  Mr.  McPherson  in 
very  poor  health.  We  held  prayers  at  seven.  I 
read  a  portion  of  Scripture,  and  made  a  few  re- 
marks. These  people  appear  anxious  to  hear  and 
be  profited  by  the  Word  of  God.  Several  of  them 
had  never  heard  the  gospel,  or  seen  a  minister  in 
their  lives. 

"25th. — Christmas  Day — I  preached  at  eleven. 
Several  Indians  were  present.  During  the  morn- 
ing and  evening  service  many  were  in  tears,  and 
I  trust  the  fruits  of  this  visit  will  appear  in  the 
day  of  eternity. 

"26th. — I  conversed  with  two  Indians  who  ex- 
pressed their  approval  of  what  they  heard  yester- 
day, and  promised  to  make  their  people  acquainted 
with  the  '  good  news,'  on  returning  to  their  hunt- 
ing grounds. 

"Sunday,  27th. — I  met  the  children.  At  eleven 
1  preached  from  Proverbs  xxiii.  18.  Several 
broken-hearted  penitents  were  present.  I  preached 
to  the  Indians  at  three;  held  prayers  at  seven  in 

215 


Almost  Like  the  Heathen 

the  evening;  baptised  two  children,  and  invited 
any  who  were  desirous  of  salvation  and  who 
wished  to  be  baptised,  to  come  to  my  room  as 
frequently  as  possible. 

"28th. — A  white  man  came  last  night  bringing 
the  names  of  six  children  for  baptism.  Poor  man, 
he  has  spent  nearly  thirty  years  in  this  country, 
and  has  never  heard  a  sermon  since  leaving  his 
native  land.  'O,  sir,'  said  he,  '  I  am  a  poor  for- 
getful sinner,  and  I  have  become  almost  like  the 
heathens;  but  the  words  which  I  have  heard  to- 
day have  awakened  me  and  I  have  resolved  to 
lead  a  new  life; ' — with  much  more  that  evinced 
a  deep  conviction  of  sin.  I  gave  him  such  advice 
as  I  considered  suited  his  case  and  prayed  with 
him  and  he  left  me.  His  wife  came  this  morning 
to  say  that  she  wished  to  be  baptised  and  to  serve 
God.  She  is  deeply  affected.  1  talked  to  and 
prayed  for  her  and  inquired  when  she  intended  to 
pray.  She  replied,  '  I  began  this  morning.'  'And 
did  you  never  pray  before?' 1  inquired.  'No, 
sir,' she  replied,  '1  never  tried  because  I  never 
knew  how.' 

"  '  And  how  did  you  pray  this  morning  ? '  said  I. 

"  'Ah,  sir,  1  could  not  say  much.  I  asked  God 
to  forgive  me  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  and  help 
me  to  be  better;  but,'  added  she,  '  1  was  so  sorry, 
and  the  tears  ran  so  fast,  I  could  not  speak  many 
words.' 

"  Another  woman  belonging  to  one  of  the  tribes 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  came  for  instruction. 

"'O,'  said  she,  '1  am  very  thankful  to  hear 

216 


Winter  Journey  to  Saskatchewan 

those  good  words;  and  I  will  endeavour  to  com- 
mence a  praying  life.  I  sometimes  heard  about 
Christians  being  baptised  and  going  to  heaven; 
but  I  never  before  heard  the  way.  Last  year  1 
was  told  that  ministers  had  settled  among  my 
people  beyond  the  mountains;  and  1  was  very 
anxious  to  go  home  that  I  might  hear  the  words 
they  spoke.  My  heart  is  very  heavy  for  my  sin. 
I  shall  try  to  do  as  the  Good  Book  teaches.  1  be- 
gan yesterday  and  I  shall  never  turn  round  again 
to  travel  back.' 

"She  manifests  the  greatest  sincerity  by  sighs 
and  tears,  and  the  strongest  language  which  the 
nervous  Cree  presents. 

"29th. — Three  persons  came  to-day  to  inquire 
the  way  to  heaven,  all  professing  sincere  repent- 
ance. 

"  I  read  some  hymns  and  portions  of  the  New 
Testament  in  Ojibway,  to  an  Indian  who  speaks 
this  dialect.  I  conversed  an  hour  or  two  with 
him  and  he  left,  expressing  satisfaction;  and  said 
he  would  relate  to  his  people  on  his  return  to 
camp  all  he  could  remember.  He  returned,  after 
going  a  little  way,  and  said:  'The  Indian  who 
heard  you  yesterday,  and  myself,  have  agreed  to 
begin  to  pray.' 

"January  ist,  1842. — Blessed  be  God,  1  see 
another  year,  and  still  desire  to  love  and  serve 
Him.  An  Indian  who  has  long  been  employed 
about  the  fort,  came  to-day  and  asked  me  to  bap- 
tise him.  I  have  every  reason  to  believe,  from 
several  conversations,  that  he  strongly  desires  to 

217 


Christian    Ministrations 

be  a  true  Christian.  The  many  inquiries  which 
he  makes  proves  his  sincerity,  being  generally 
such  as  are  of  a  practical  character,  and  show  that 
he  desires  not  only  to  know  the  way  of  salvation, 
but  to  be  able  to  walk  therein. 

"2d. — Two  youths  called  this  morning;  a  lad 
about  seventeen  and  a  girl  about  sixteen.  Though 
they  both  profess  their  determination  to  serve 
God,  I  have  considered  it  advisable  to  defer  the 
ordinance  of  baptism  until  my  next  visit. 

"Sunday,  3d. — I  read  and  expounded  the  fifth 
and  sixth  chapters  of  Ephesians,  solemnised  six 
marriages,  baptised  eight  adults  and  twelve  chil- 
dren, and  administered  the  Lord's  Supper.  I  can- 
not speak  too  highly  of  all  I  met  with  at  this  post. 
Every  personal  kindness  was  shown  me;  but  what 
to  every  minister  must  be  much  more  gratifying, 
was  the  serious  and  prayerful  attention  paid  to 
religious  instruction. 

"4th. — I  left  Cumberland  House.  Thermome- 
ter eighteen  below  zero;  and  the  wind  blowing 
strong  in  our  faces,  with  fine,  sharp  snow.  I 
made  the  old  encampment  at  dark.  I  slept,  but 
was  very  cold.  It  was  snowing  hard  all  night. 
At  one  o'clock,  Thomas  awoke  me  by  shaking  oflf 
the  load  of  snow  from  my  blankets.  I  roused 
myself  and  started  at  two  a.  m. 

"  5th. — I  stopped  to  breakfast  at  eight.  Ther- 
mometer twenty-six  below  zero.  I  reached  the 
Pas,  and  preached  in  the  evening.  Three  Indians 
came  in  after  the  service  and  commenced  an 
argument,    offering    strong    opposition,     I    told 

218 


Winter  Journey  to  Saskatchewan 

them  I  had  nothing  to  say  until  1  had  told  them 
what  God  said.  1  then  preached  Jesus  and  the 
Resurrection.  They  listened  and  left  by  remark- 
ing, '  Well,  that  is  all  very  good,  we  can  find  no 
fault  with  the  Great  Spirit  or  His  servant.'  I  find 
'Christ  and  Him  crucified,'  to  be  the  best  subject 
under  all  circumstances. 

"6th. — At  Mr.  Budd's  request  1  spent  the  fol- 
lowing day  with  him.  I  preached  at  eleven 
o'clock  and  trust  that  God  gave  effect  to  His 
truth.     The  evening  service  was  well  attended. 

"nth. — I  left  Moose  Lake  at  daybreak.  At 
eight  o'clock  a  halo  was  observable  around  the 
sun.  At  about  ten  the  circle  became  more  darkly 
defined  than  anything  I  have  observed  in  the 
country,  presenting  beautifully  the  colours  of  the 
rainbow.  Another  circle  of  less  brilliant  colours 
surrounded  this  at  about  the  same  distance  from 
the  inner  circle  as  that  was  from  the  sun.  This 
outer  halo  was  intersected  by  a  semicircle  of  the 
same  shades  at  the  zenith;  the  colours  were  in- 
verted, however,  like  those  of  the  iris  and  its  re- 
flection, and  had  in  every  respect  the  appearance 
of  the  rainbow,  the  colours  becoming  more  and 
more  faint  from  the  centre  until  they  mingled  one 
with  another.  From  the  sun  in  the  centre  a 
stream  of  white  light,  resembling  the  aurora 
borealis,  issued  parallel  with  the  horizon,  forming 
where  it  intersected  the  inner  halos,  two  brilliant 
mock  suns  nearly  as  bright  as  the  true  one,  and 
then  passing  on  until  it  reached  the  outer  circle, 
where  two  mock  suns,  but  less  dazzling,  were 

219 


Mock  Suns 

observable.  In  the  northwestern  sky  was  a  faint 
reflection  of  the  sun,  the  two  halos  and  the  mock 
suns.  The  sky  during  the  whole  forenoon  had 
altogether  an  extraordinary  appearance,  very 
dark,  but  neither  misty  nor  cloudy,  everywhere 
clear  with  a  darkening  of  the  blue,  nearly  ap- 
proaching to  black.  It  blew  a  ga[e  from  the 
southeast,  and  we  had  a  heavy  snowstorm  at 
three  o'clock  which  obliged  us  to  encamp.  Ther- 
mometer six. 

"  14th. — I  left  the  encampment  at  two  a.  m., 
and  made  Swan  River  at  daybreak.  At  eleven 
p.  M.  we  reached  Shoal  Fort,  all  well.  Praised  be 
God! 

"  15th. — Three  persons  came  to  converse  on 
the  subject  of  religion.  A  Romish  priest  visited 
the  place  last  autumn,  baptised  two  or  three  In- 
dians, and  taught  them  to  say  a  few  words  in 
French  as  prayers,  nothing  of  which  they  under- 
stood; but  they  were  further  instructed  how 
dangerous  it  would  be  to  listen  to  us.  It  is  pain- 
ful that  these  poor  creatures,  seeking  knowledge, 
and  having  so  few  opportunities,  should  be  pre- 
vented from  hearing  the  plain  truths  of  revelation. 
Our  mode  of  teaching  is  better  known  to  the 
gentlemen  and  servants  in  the  Honourable  Com- 
pany's service  than  to  the  priests,  and  I  feel  as- 
sured that  the  plain  simple  story  of  Christ  cruci- 
fied, as  the  author  of  salvation,  and  a  faithful 
enforcement  of  practical  piety,  can  never  injure 
either  Papist,  Protestant  or  Pagan. 

"  The  Honourable  Company  carry  on  near  this 
220 


z 

D 


o 

I 


Winter  Journey  to  Saskatchewan 

place  the  manufacture  of  salt.  The  waters  of 
nearly  all  the  small  lakes  and  streams  are  more  or 
less  impregnated,  having  a  brackish,  disagreeable 
taste,  and  are  purgative  when  drunk  freely.  This 
evening  a  woman  came  to  see  me  who  accom- 
panied her  husband  last  summer  to  Norway 
House,  where  the  family  were  baptised.  She 
said,  '  I  have  prayed  to  the  Great  Spirit  ever 
since  I  was  baptised.  My  little  child  became 
very  ill  so  that  all  concluded  she  must  die.  1  took 
her  in  my  arms,  and  kneeling  down,  1  told  the 
Great  Spirit  what  I  felt  in  my  heart.  He  was 
very  merciful,  my  child  recovered;  God  gave 
her  back  to  me.'  This  woman  made  a  remark 
which  the  Indians  not  unfrequently  make, — that 
sometimes  the  wicked  spirit  told  her  her  prayers 
were  foolish.  '  But,'  said  she,  '  my  heart  is  often 
made  very  happy.'  I  inquired  how  she  prayed. 
She  answered,  '  1  say,  O  Great  Spirit,  pity  me. 
Forgive  all  my  crooked  ways.  Give  me  a  good 
mind;  keep  me  from  sin.  Bless  my  husband  and 
children,  and  give  us  all  good  life  (health).  1 
trust  in  Jesus,  Amen!'  'And  I  believe,' added 
she,  '  that  He  was  hanged  by  nails  on  the  cross- 
wood  to  save  me.'  This  is  simple  prayer,  and 
simple  faith. 

"Sunday,  17th. — I  preached  at  ten,  at  three, 
and  at  seven.  Few  persons  were  present,  the 
fort  being  very  small,  and  the  Indians  generally 
on  their  hunting  grounds. 

"  1 8th. — We  departed.  We  crossed  Swan 
Lake  and  found  a  store  of  fish,  which  the  guide 

221 


What  Forty-two  Below  Zero  Means 

had  laid  up  during  the  winter  of  which  we  took 
a  supply  for  the  dogs.  Thermometer  twenty- 
three.     Our  encampment  was  good. 

"  19th. — Thermometer  forty-two  below  zero. 
It  is  excessively  cold.  Water  from  the  tea  kettle, 
nearly  boiling,  being  poured  out  into  a  tin  plate 
to  the  depth  of  about  half  an  inch  became  frozen 
and  solid,  or  sufficiently  so  to  slide  out,  when 
warmed  on  the  under  side,  in  seven  minutes  and 
a  half. 

"20th. — We  made  Fort  Pelly  at  ten  o'clock. 
Thermometer  twenty-five. 

"  22d. — We  had  fine  moderate  weather.  I 
conversed  with  four  persons  who  requested  in- 
struction and  baptism,  and  found  them  anxious 
to  know  the  truth  and  to  do  the  will  of  God. 

"Sunday,  24th. — I  preached  to  an  attentive 
congregation,  several  professing  their  determina- 
tion to  seek  and  serve  the  Lord. 

"  26th. — We  have  prayers  every  night  at  seven, 
at  which  time  1  always  deliver  a  short  discourse 
or  expound  some  portion  of  scripture.  1  cate- 
chise the  children,  and  teach  them  prayers  at 
half-past  eight. 

"28th. — I  have  had  several  interviews  with  a 
sick  Indian  who  is  taken  care  of  in  the  fort.  He 
appears  anxious  to  receive  instruction,  but  is  very 
deaf. 

"29th. — To-day  an  Indian  arrived  from  his 
hunting  grounds  with  whom  I  conversed  while 
he  listened  with  much  interest. 

"Sunday,  31st.— I  preached  at  eleven,  at  three, 
222 


Winter  Journey  to  Saskatchewan 

and  seven  o'clock,  and  baptised  eight  after  the 
forenoon  service. 

"February  ist. — I  left  Fort  Pelly,  having  ex- 
perienced every  kindness  and  attention  from  Dr. 
Todd,  and  derived  great  satisfaction  in  seeing  a 
marked  attention  to  the  word  of  life. 

"3d. — We  have  been  crossing  extensive  plains 
for  the  last  two  days  but  we  made  good  speed, 
having  an  old  beaten  track,  sleds  having  been 
through  during  the  season. 

"4th. — A  snowstorm  rendered  our  travelling 
very  disagreeable  and  led  us  sometimes  to  wander 
far  from  the  track. 

"  5th. — We  made  Beaver  Creek  House  and 
found  all  well.     Thanks  to  our  great  Preserver! 

"6th. — We  experienced  great  kindness  from 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKay.  He  is  an  excellent  Cree 
speaker,  and  kindly  furnished  me  with  a  trans- 
lation of  the  Lord's  Prayer.  We  held  prayers  at 
eight  P.  M.  in  a  large  tent,  and  had  a  good  con- 
gregation. Several  Indians  encamped  in  the 
neighbourhood. 

"Sunday,  7th. — I  preached  at  eleven  and  at 
six.  I  baptised  three  persons  connected  with  the 
fort.  Much  pains  has  been  taken  by  the  gentle- 
man in  charge  and  his  family,  to  instruct  those 
connected  with  the  establishment. 

"9th. — I  departed  accompanied  by  two  men 
from  this  place,  two  sleds  and  eight  dogs.  Not 
the  sign  of  a  track  was  to  be  seen,  nothing  but 
open  plains  with  here  and  there  a  few  small 
poplars. 

223 


Journey  Ended 

"  loth. — We  had  a  very  crooked  track.  Four 
of  our  dogs  were  nearly  crippled  through  the 
driver's  carelessness  in  not  having  shoes. 

"  Sunday,  14th. — We  rested  to-day  snugly  en- 
camped in  a  thick  clump  of  poplars,  making 
good  fire  wood,  of  which  we  collected  an  abun- 
dance last  evening,  and  have  enjoyed  a  Sabbath  of 
peace  and  improvement  and  rest  in  the  wilder- 
ness. 

"  15th. — Not  a  bush  to  be  seen.  At  night  we 
reached  a  few  stunted  oaks,  and  endeavoured  to 
make  afire;  we  succeeded  in  boiling  a  kettle,  got 
a  cup  of  tea  and  laid  down  for  warmth.  Ther- 
mometer thirty-five. 

"  i6th. — We  were  unable  to  sleep  in  conse- 
quence of  the  intense  cold.  We  started  at 
twenty  minutes  past  twelve  and  made  the  As- 
siniboine  River  at  dark. 

"  February,  17th. — We  reached  Norway  House 
in  the  afternoon  after  an  absence  of  three  months 
and  four  days.  Thanks  be  to  the  Almighty  God 
for  His  providential  care!  I  found  my  family, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  fort,  and  the  Indians,  in 
good  health." 


224 


XVII 

PERSECUTION   AROUSED 

"  Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy  " — Tripping 
and  the  Voyageurs — Slavish  work — The  Guides — "  Pieces  " — 
Portaging — Short  Summers — Sir  George  Simpson — His  oppo- 
sition to  Sabbath  rest  and  to  Mr.  Evans — "  Persecuted  for 
Righteousness'  sake  " — Falsely  accused — Mockery  of  a  trial — 
Strong  in  Grace  and  Innocence — The  false  friend — Supplies 
cut  off — Practical  tests — The  victory  of  the  Sabbath-keeping 
Indians — Continued  demands  for  Mr.  Evans'  recall. 

Mr.  Evans  was  a  thorough  and  consistent  mis- 
sionary. He  was  a  brave  and  fearless  man,  and 
shunned  not  to  declare  all  the  counsel  of  God. 
He  had  such  faith  in  the  gospel,  not  only  to  save 
man,  but  to  keep  them  in  the  paths  of  righteous- 
ness, that  on  their  acceptance  of  Christianity  he 
at  once  began  to  impress  upon  his  converts  the 
necessity  of  fully  keeping  all  God's  commands. 
The  high  ideals  to  which  he  at  once  endeavoured 
to  bring  up  his  converts,  was  very  much  at  vari- 
ance with  the  lax  ideas  of  some  who  occupied 
high  positions  in  the  country,  and  very  soon 
there  were  antagonistic  influences  at  work  among 
the  Indians. 

For  years  he  had  lived  on  terms  of  friendship 
and  good  will  with  the  great  fur-trading  com- 
pany that  had  so  long  been  paramount  in  its  in- 
fluence in  the  country.  At  the  different  posts  in 
225 


Keeping  the  Sabbath 

the  vast  country,  where  he  visited  on  his  won- 
derful journeys,  he  had  been  an  honoured  guest, 
as  his  journals  so  well  intimate,  and  his  sermons 
and  addresses,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been  a  bene- 
diction to  both  whites  and  Indians.  Thus  had 
he  well  repaid  them  for  all  the  courtesies  and 
kindnesses  shown  him. 

The  troubles  which  so  increased  and  multiplied, 
began  in  reference  to  the  divine  command,  "  Re- 
member the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy."  Mr. 
Evans  all  his  life  had  held  high  ideas,  and  strong 
views  in  reference  both  to  its  sanctity  and  value. 
He  had  also  such  belief  in  Omnipotent  wisdom, 
that  he  felt  assured  that  the  day  would  never 
have  been  instituted  if  its  keeping  in  all  lands 
was  not  for  man's  physical,  as  well  as  his  spirit- 
ual good.  Hence  he  took  the  same  ground  in 
the  Hudson's  Bay  territories  as  he  had  in  Upper 
Canada  and  in  England. 

To  his  Indian  converts,  he  preached  the  same 
truths  in  reference  to  the  Sabbath  that  he  had  in 
other  lands.  To  him  they  listened,  and  at  once 
the  question  arose  in  their  minds:  Is  it  right 
for  us  as  tripmen  of  the  company,  to  travel  on 
the  Sabbath  day  ?  Conscience,  now  under  re- 
ligious guidance  troubled  them,  and  so  they  in- 
formed their  masters,  the  Hudson's  Bay  officials, 
that  they  wished  to  rest  on  the  long  journeys  on 
God's  day,  as  He  had  commanded  them  to  do. 

Some  reference  to  this  work  of  tripping  is  es- 
sential, in  order  to  fully  understand  the  almost 
slavish  toil  that  was  required  of  these  hardy  men. 

226 


Persecution  Aroused 

For  over  two  centuries  the  great  fur  company 
have  had  their  trading  posts  scattered  through 
that  vast  region.  Some  of  them  are  thousands 
of  miles  in  the  interior  from  the  sea  board. 
Around  these  different  posts  are  bands  of  Indians 
who  are  the  fur-hunters,  whose  rich  products  of 
the  chase  have  been  yearly  exchanged  for  the 
goods  brought  in  from  the  outside  civilised 
world.  The  whole  system  of  trade  has  been  one 
of  barter  from  the  beginning.  There  was,  until 
very  lately,  but  very  little  money  in  the  country. 
It  was  quite  unnecessary. 

The  great  company  had  its  brigades  of  boats 
so  organised  that  the  goods  were  by  them  car- 
ried into  the  interior,  and  the  furs  caught  in 
previous  years  were  by  them  brought  out  for 
shipment  to  England.  So  great  however  are  the 
distances,  and  so  many  the  difficulties  in  the  dif- 
ferent routes,  that  no  one  brigade  can  travel  with 
sufficient  rapidity  to  reach  the  coast  from  the  in- 
terior posts  within  a  single  year.  The  result,  is, 
that  some  of  the  furs  from  the  more  remote 
places  are  two  or  three  years  on  the  route. 

For  example,  the  brigades  of  boats  loaded 
with  goods  that  had  been  brought  out  the  previ- 
ous summer  from  England,  would  leave  Norway 
House  as  soon  as  the  lakes  and  rivers  were  free 
of  ice,  for  the  vast  interior  known  as  the  height 
of  land,  where  the  waters  divide;  some  coming 
south  to  the  great  Saskatchewan,  and  thus  find- 
ing their  way  ultimately  to  the  Hudson's  Bay, 
while  the  rest  goes  north  down  the  tributaries  of 

227 


Great  Journeys  of  the  Tripmen 

the  Mackenzie,  and  then  through  that  mighty  river, 
north  to  the  Arctic  ocean.  In  order  to  reach  this 
point  called  the  height  of  land,  many  labourious 
weeks  of  toil  were  necessary.  Many  portages 
had  to  be  made  and  dangers  encountered.  Then 
when  the  place  was  reached,  the  cargoes  of 
goods  were  exchanged  with  a  northern  brigade 
of  boats,  that  had  come  from  Peace  river  Ath- 
abasca, or  it  may  be  from  the  distant  Fort  Simp- 
son, on  the  Mackenzie  River.  Dangerous  and 
difficult  was  the  return  journey,  and  many 
weeks  elapsed  ere  it  was  ended,  and  the  well 
bronzed  and  weather-beaten  men  were  able  to 
place  in  the  strong  warehouses  of  the  company, 
the  bales  of  rich  and  valuable  furs  caught  the 
previous  winters,  some  of  them  thousands  of 
miles  away  in  the  vast  interior  hunting  grounds. 
Thus  all  through  the  brief  summer,  these 
brigades  were  at  work  in  the  different  parts  of 
the  country.  It  was  indeed  slavish  toil.  The 
men  worked  like  heroes.  I  never  saw  better  or 
harder  work  in  any  land,  by  any  class  of  toilers. 
The  guides  of  the  brigades  were  Indians  of  much 
experience,  who  had  proved  themselves  skillful 
in  running  the  dangerous  rapids;  quick  to  notice 
the  coming  of  the  storms,  and  prompt  to  meet 
every  emergency  of  danger  that  threatened  the 
cargoes  of  goods,  or  bales  of  furs.  They  were 
also  petted  and  honoured  according  to  their  abil- 
ity to  push  their  brigades  on  with  the  greatest 
speed,  and  as  quickly  as  possible  safely  make  the 
long  and  dangerous  trip.     The  consequence  was 

228 


o 


o 

oi 
U 


Q 
< 


Persecution  Aroused 

there  was  a  great  deal  of  rivalry  among  the  head 
guides;  and,  as  a  result,  the  head  men  in  the  dif- 
ferent boats  were  pushed  to  the  very  limit  of 
their  physical  strength.  Especially  was  this  no- 
ticed in  the  portages,  where  the  goods  or  bales 
of  furs,  and  then  the  big  heavy  boats  themselves 
were  being  taken  across. 

These  goods  are  put  up  in  what  are  called 
"pieces,"  each  averaging  about  eighty  pounds  in 
weight.  In  transporting  these  across  the  port- 
age, each  man  was  expected  to  carry  at  least  two 
of  these  "pieces,"  on  his  back,  supported  by  a 
strap  across  his  forehead.  Many  of  the  men  car- 
ried three  of  them  on  each  trip  across.  They 
were  expected  to  run  the  whole  distance  when 
loaded,  in  a  kind  of  jog-trot,  and  to  return  at  a 
much  more  rapid  rate.  The  trails  in  the  portages 
were  with  few  exceptions  very  rough,  and  some 
of  them  were  of  great  length,  owing  to  the  long 
succession  of  dangerous  and  unnavigable  rapids 
in  the  rivers.  Then  the  heavy  boats  had  to  be 
drawn  across  the  same  rough  and  often  steep 
portages  by  their  crews,  who  under  the  stentorian 
shouts  of  the  guides,  were  kept  tugging  and  pull- 
ing to  the  utmost  of  their  strength. 

When  the  boats  were  once  more  launched 
and  loaded,  and  the  journey  resumed,  the  men 
usually  had  to  settle  down  to  their  heavy  oars,  as 
it  was  not  always  that  the  winds  were  favourable 
for  their  sailing  with  the  one  big  square  sail, 
with  which  each  boat  was  furnished. 

Thus    it    was    drive,    drive,    drive,   from    the 

229 


Drive,  Drive,  Drive 

time  the  ice  disappeared  in  the  waters  in  early 
June,  until  well  on  in  September,  when  the  cold 
breath  of  the  Frost  King  began  to  chill,  and  once 
more  freeze  up  the  waters.  So  short  were  the 
summers,  and  so  vast  were  the  distances,  and  so 
many  the  delays  by  head  winds  and  disasters  in 
the  rapids  or  storms,  that  it  often  happened  that 
the  late  brigades  did  not  get  to  their  destination, 
and  thus  that  cargo  of  furs  had  to  wait  another 
year,  ere  it  reached  the  seaboard  for  shipment. 
This  of  course  meant  a  considerable  loss;  hence 
we  can  appreciate  the  anxiety  of  the  officials  to 
make  the  most  of  the  summer  months,  and  get 
all  the  returns  possible  on  the  market,  as  their 
salaries  were  rated  according  to  the  profits  on  the 
yearly  returns. 

With  these  statements  of  the  condition  of  af- 
fairs in  reference  to  the  trade  of  the  country  we 
are  able  to  understand  the  feelings  of  the  worldly 
ambitious  officials  of  the  great  company  when 
it  became  known  that  several  of  the  finest  bri- 
gades, including  some  hundreds  of  tripmen,  had 
stated  that  they  wished  it  to  be  understood  that 
they  would  not  travel  on  the  Sabbath  day.  They 
were  dismayed  as  well  as  indignant.  One 
seventh  of  the  short  summer  to  be  wasted  in 
idleness.  It  would  never  do.  It  meant  the  com- 
plete disorganisation  of  the  trade;  it  meant  that 
no  dividends  were  to  come  from  London,  as  pay- 
ment for  all  they  were  enduring  in  this  lonely 
land. 

Protests,  decided  and  emphatic,  went  at  once 

230 


Persecution  Aroused 

to  Mr.  Evans,  whom  they  rightly  judged  was  the 
man  who  had  preached  this  nonsense,  as  they 
called  it,  to  the  Indians.  They  knew  but  little  of 
the  man,  if  they  thought  that  he  could  be  induced 
to  swerve  from  the  path  that  he  considered  right, 
by  their  threats.  And  their  threats  in  those  days 
meant  a  great  deal.  No  despot  in  Ancient  Egypt 
or  in  modern  Russia,  ever  ruled  with  more  abso- 
lute power  than  did  Sir  George  Simpson  rule 
in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territories  for  many  long 
years.  His  word  was  law.  The  stories  that  are 
still  afloat  in  the  country,  at  the  different  posts, 
of  his  despotic  and  arbitrary  doings  seem  almost 
incredible.  High  officials  were  like  trembling 
schoolboys  in  his  presence.  To  such  a  man, 
whose  one  absorbing  ambition  was  to  make  high 
dividends  for  the  company  in  London,  and 
who  retained  his  position  of  governor  so  long  in 
spite  of  all  the  protests  of  injured  ones,  because 
of  the  way  in  which  he  despotically  drove  every- 
thing, with  this  one  end  in  view;  the  position 
and  teachings  of  James  Evans  were  peculiarly  of- 
fensive. 

He  had  noticed  also  the  marvellous  popularity 
of  Mr.  Evans  with  all  classes  in  the  country,  and 
this  also  was  sufficient  cause  for  his  destruction 
on  the  part  of  a  man  so  jealous  and  unprincipled 
as  Sir  George  Simpson.  Mr.  Evans  saw  the 
coming  storm,  but  conscious  of  his  own  inno- 
cency  and  integrity,  he  pushed  on  in  the  great 
work  of  preaching  to  whites  and  Indians,  the 
whole  gospel  as  revealed  in  the  Word  of  God. 

231 


Hardships  Increased 

However,  he  had  no  desire  to  make  enemies  of 
the  great  company  of  fur  traders;  and  so,  when 
he  was  most  emphatically  informed  that  his 
teachings  on  the  Sabbath  question  were  inciting 
many  of  the  hitherto  faithful  tripmen  of  the 
company  to  rebellion,  and  therefore  must  cease, 
he  replied  by  saying,  that  no  harm  would  come 
to  the  Honourable  Company  by  their  servants 
keeping  God's  commands;  and  that  in  reference 
to  the  Sabbath,  he  had  not  the  slightest  doubt 
but  that  if  the  matter  were  fairly  tested,  it  would- 
be  seen  that  the  brigades  that  rested  on  the  Sab- 
bath day  could  do  more  work  in  the  six  days 
than  could  those  brigades  that  took  no  Sabbath 
rest. 

This  suggestion  of  testing  the  matter  was 
laughed  to  scorn,  and  utterly  refused.  Persecu- 
tion, bitter  and  unprincipled,  began;  and  many 
favours  and  privileges  were  at  once  cut  off.  This 
conduct  on  the  part  of  the  company  made  it 
very  trying  to  the  missionary  and  his  family,  and 
very  much  increased  their  hardships.  Living  so 
remote  from  civilisation,  they  were  in  a  great 
measure  dependent  on  this  well  organised  com- 
pany, which  then  possessing  a  monoply  of  trade, 
were  able  to  make  it  very  uncomfortable  for  any 
persons  in  the  country  who  had  incurred  their 
animosity. 

Fortunately  for  Mr.  Evans,  so  well  grounded 
had  the  Christian  Indians  become  under  his 
teachings  and  their  own  reading  of  the  Word  of 
God  on  this  matter,  that  they  firmly  but  respect- 

232 


Persecution  Aroused 

fully  told  the  officials  of  the  company  that  they 
would  "obey  God,  rather  than  man";  and  re- 
quested themselves  to  have  the  matter  tested,  as 
to  which  brigades  could  do  the  business  assigned 
them  better,  and  more  expeditiously;  those  who 
ignored  the  sacred  day,  or  those  who  respected 
it.  To  this  request  of  the  Indians,  the  company 
also  refused  to  listen.  In  their  pride  and  arro- 
gance, and  especially  in  the  mind  of  the  despotic 
Sir  George  Simpson,  it  had  become  a  question  of 
who  is  master  and  whose  word  is  to  control  the 
Indians.  Sir  George  thought  it  was  between 
himself  and  the  brave  missionary,  Mr.  Evans. 
We  think  it  had  become  a  question  between  the 
obstinate  immoral  governor  and  the  Lord  of  the 
Sabbath. 

Of  course  Mr.  Evans  would  not  yield,  or  cease 
to  preach  what  he  considered  the  truth.  Then  a 
system  of  persecution  T^egan,  the  most  cold- 
blooded and  heartless,  by  a  man  lost  to  all  sense 
of  shame  and  honour;  a  man  who  was  one  of  the 
greatest  libertines  of  the  century.  Some  poor 
timid  women  were  terrorised  into  swearing 
falsely  against  one  of  the  purest  minded  of  men, 
and  thus  try  to  destroy  his  influence  and  drive 
him  out  of  the  country.  A  mockery  of  a  trial 
was  held,  at  which  Sir  George  constituted  him- 
self the  judge,  and  summoned  this  man  of  God 
before  him,  and,  producing  his  own  witnesses 
who  had  been  prepared  for  the  occasion,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  find  him  guilty. 

Since  that  sad  mockery  of  a  trial  in  Jerusalem, 

233 


Falsely  Accused 

when  false  witnesses  there  perjured  themselves 
and  tried  to  injure  the  Holy  One  of  God,  we 
know  of  nothing  in  all  the  centuries  more  sad, 
more  diabolical.  How  the  brave  man  continued 
in  his  work  so  grandly  as  he  did,  is  only  to  be 
accounted  for  by  those  who  know  the  power  of 
divine  grace.  "Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  1 
trust  Him."  With  this  grip  on  the  Almighty  One, 
who  allowed  him  to  be  thus  terribly  assailed,  he 
hung  on  amidst  the  dense  darkness  that  seemed 
so  impenetrable. 

He  was  clad  in  the  armour  of  a  clear  conscience ; 
and  certain  of  his  innocence  of  the  dark  charges 
preferred  against  him,  and  understanding  well 
the  reasons  why  he  was  being  so  persecuted,  he 
could  rest  in  the  words  of  his  Redeemer  who 
said,  "  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  revile  you, 
and  persecute  you,  and  shall  say  all  manner  of 
evil  against  you  falsely,  for  My  sake."  He  knew 
it  was  false,  and  he  knew  that  it  was  because  of 
preaching  the  whole  gospel,  he  could  claim 
Christ's  words,  when  he  said,  "for  My  sake," 
and  so  he  was  sustained,  amidst  it  all. 

Then  he  was  cheered  and  encouraged  by  the 
fact  that  not  one  Christian  Indian,  even  for  one 
moment,  believed  that  the  charges  preferred 
against  him  were  true.  In  fact  they  knew  they 
were  false,  for  the  weak-minded  false  witnesses 
openly  declared  in  the  Indian  village  that  what 
they  said  at  the  trial  were  lies,  but  that  the  words 
were  put  into  their  mouths,  and  they  were  so 
afraid  of  the  wicked  governor,  that  they  had  to 

234 


Persecution  Aroused 

say  what  he  ordered  them  to  say.  This  coming 
to  the  ears  of  the  governor,  the  false  witnesses 
were  sent  more  than  a  thousand  miles  away  into 
the  more  remote  interior.  But  they  outlived  the 
despotic  governor;  and  in  after  years,  before 
competent  authorities,  with  bitter  tears,  con- 
fessed that  the  whole  thing  was  a  wicked  con- 
spiracy to  crush  their  missionary,  because  he  had 
reproved  the  governor  for  his  sins,  and  taught 
the  people  to  remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep 
it  holy. 

One  of  the  saddest  and  most  humiliating  things 
about  this  whole  affair  is  that,  while  all  the 
Christian  Indians  were  true,  in  some  way  or 
other,  one  of  the  young  missionaries  for  a  time 
fell  under  the  baneful  spell  of  the  governor,  and 
jealous  at  the  marvellous  influence  and  popularity 
of  Mr.  Evans,  became  the  traducer  of  one  who 
had  ever  been  his  friend,  and  whom,  as  after- 
ward confessed,  he  knew  to  be  innocent.  Yet 
Mr.  Evans  lived  through  it  all,  and  some  of  the 
grandest  and  most  successful  of  his  work  in 
winning  the  Indians  to  Christ  was  done  while 
white  men  were  thus  endeavouring  to  ruin  his 
influence  and  so  harrass  him,  that  he  would  be- 
come discouraged,  and  in  disgust  or  despair, 
leave  the  country. 

With  unflagging  industry  he  went  on  with  his 
work  of  translating  more  and  more  of  the  Word 
of  God,  which,  with  additional  hymns,  were 
printed  in  the  Syllabic  Characters,  and  more  and 
more  widely  scattered  as  opportunities  offered. 

235 


Secret  but  Helpless  Friendship 

Many  of  the  officials  of  the  company,  well 
aware  of  the  baselessness  of  the  charges  preferred 
against  Mr.  Evans,  secretly  assured  him  of  their 
confidence  and  friendship,  but  such  was  the  des- 
potic power  of  the  governor  and  the  dread  that 
all  had  of  his  vengeance,  that  they  could  not 
openly  avow  it  without  suffering.  All  their  pro- 
motions were  absolutely  in  his  hands;  and,  ac- 
cording to  their  promotions,  were  their  shares  of 
the  profits  which  constituted  the  greater  part  of 
their  salaries.  Years  of  faithful  service  were 
nothing  to  him.  He  only  promoted  those  who 
did  his  will  and  with  servile  obedience  carried  out 
all  his  commands.  To  incur  his  anger  meant 
banishment  to  the  wildest  and  most  remote  and 
miserable  trading  posts  in  the  vast  interior  of  that 
country. 

While  with  characteristic  zeal  Mr.  Evans  kept 
the  home  work  at  the  mission  thus  progressing, 
he  still  with  undiminished  energy,  travelled  to  the 
different  remote  places  where  missions  were  now 
beginning  to  flourish;  and  although,  through  the 
stern  orders  sent  from  the  governor  to  the  differ- 
ent posts  of  the  fur  traders,  favours  once  allowed 
him  were  now  refused;  he  had  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  he  could  live  among  his  own  peo- 
ple, the  happy  Indian  converts  whom  he  had  led 
to  Christ,  and  who  all  stood  true  to  him,  in  every 
place. 

Still  anxious  to  conciliate,  in  spite  of  all  the 
contumely  and  persecution  he  had  received,  Mr. 
Evans  endeavoured  to  convince  these  opposers  of 

236 


Persecution  Aroused 

the  correctness  of  his  teachings,  as  regards  the 
Lord's  day,  by  actual  tests.  He  had  nothing  but 
kindness  in  his  great  loving  heart.  He  would 
start  in  his  canoe  with  a  couple  of  Indian  canoe- 
men  at  the  same  time  the  company  were  sending, 
in  one  of  their  swiftest  canoes,  and  by  their  well- 
tried  men,  important  dispatches  to  some  far-away 
post.  Mr.  Evans  would,  with  his  men,  always 
rest  on  the  Sabbath  day,  while  the  other  canoe 
pushed  on  without  any  cessation.  In  every  case 
Mr.  Evans  reached  the  end  of  his  journey  first. 

These  practical  tests  not  only  confirmed  the  In- 
dians in  their  belief  of  the  genuineness  of  the 
teachings  of  their  beloved  missionary,  but  num- 
bers of  the  honourable  officers  of  the  company  saw 
their  force  and  rejoiced;  but,  from  the  motives  of 
worldly  policy  to  which  we  have  already  referred, 
they  remained  silent  or  ignored  the  subject  as  far 
as  possible. 

The  Christian  Indians  in  the  great  brigades  also 
tested  the  matter,  and  they  too  signally  triumphed ; 
so  much  so  that  on  the  death  of  this  arbitrary 
governor,  no  attempt  was  ever  made  after  to  in- 
terfere with  this  faithful  observance  of  the  Lord's 
day.  Years  after  it  was  the  privilege  of  the  writer 
to  watch  for  eight  consecutive  summers  these 
great  brigades  of  boats  on  their  long  and  toilsome 
trips.  They  left  us  loaded  with  the  "  pieces  "  of 
goods  that  had  come  out  from  England  and  were 
to  be  carried,  as  we  have  described,  into  the  in- 
terior for  the  next  winter's  trade.  With  the  bales 
of  furs  obtained  where  the  cargoes  were  ex- 
237 


The  Sabbath  Keeper's  Revenge 

changed,  the  boats  returned  to  Norway  House. 
Without  one  exception  our  Sabbath-keeping  In- 
dians always  returned  in  a  shorter  time  than  did 
those  who  knew  no  Sabbath.  It  was  suggestive, 
and  like  one  of  the  revenges  of  history,  that  my 
attention  was  first  directed  to  this  fact  by  some 
high  officials  in  the  company  themselves,  who  re- 
joiced that  the  Sabbath  was  thus  honoured,  and 
stated  that  when  they  had  some  specially  valuable 
cargoes,  or  important  and  costly  "pieces"  to  be 
transported  over  difficult  routes,  they  preferred, 
whenever  possible,  to  put  them  in  charge  of  our 
Sabbath-keeping  Christian  Indians. 

When  I  have  asked  some  of  the  Indian  guides 
or  Christian  boatmen  to  give  me  in  detail  some 
account  of  their  doings,  in  contrast  with  the  ac- 
tions of  the  other  brigades,  I  was  always  very 
much  interested.  Something  like  this  would  be 
their  story: 

"When  going  up  the  height  of  land  to  meet 
the  brigades  from  the  north,  perhaps  three  or 
four  brigades  would  leave  the  old  fort  for  the 
mouth  of  the  Saskatchewan  at  the  same  time. 
We  would  push  on,  keeping  much  in  company, 
until  we  woufd  begin  to  reach  the  portages,  then 
we  would  separate.  Our  Christian  men  could 
hold  their  own  with  the  best  of  these  others,  who 
were  generally  either  pagans  or  Roman  Catholics. 
Saturday  we  were  generally  ahead.  We  camped 
as  usual  Saturday  night,  sometimes  near  together, 
sometimes  perhaps  ten  miles  ahead  of  any  other 
brigade.  As  the  next  day  was  our  Sabbath,  our 
238 


Persecution  Aroused 

day  of  rest,  we  made  everything  as  comfortable 
as  possible.  We  covered  our  cargoes  w^ith  the 
tarpaulins,  or  oilcloths,  and  after  supper  and 
prayers  went  to  bed.  The  next  day  was  the  Sab- 
bath. We  rose  as  usual,  had  a  good  wash,  got 
out  our  Sunday  clothes,  which  we  had  carried 
with  us,  and  put  them  on.  Then  we  had  our 
breakfast,  and  after  that,  as  we  generally  had 
some  of  our  class-leaders  or  lay  preachers  among 
the  men,  we  held  a  religious  service.  We  always 
carried  our  Bibles  and  hymn  books.  After  din- 
ner we  had  a  good  sleep,  then  supper,  then 
another  religious  service.  Then  we  lay  down  and 
went  to  sleep.  Perhaps  during  the  day  the  other 
brigades  passed  us  in  the  forenoon.  They  pushed 
on  and  on,  but  we  never  minded  that.  We  were 
remembering  the  command,  "  keep  holy  the  Sab- 
bath day."  We  were  up  very  early  on  Monday 
morning.  The  day  of  rest  had  refreshed  us,  and 
so  while  the  wapun-uchukoos,  the  morning  star, 
was  still  visible,  we  were  stirring  and  making 
ready  for  a  long  day's  pull  at  the  oars. 

"About  Wednesday  we  generally  caught  up  to 
the  other  brigades  that  had  no  Sabbath.  With  a 
shout,  the  struggle  began.  They  to  keep  ahead, 
we  to  get  ahead.  Perhaps  we  could  not  do  it 
that  night,  but  we  did  it  the  next  day.  Then  on 
we  hurried,  until  Saturday  night  came  again.  We 
do  the  same  as  we  did  last  Saturday.  Then  the 
next  day  we  sleep,  and  eat,  and  worship  God. 
Perhaps  about  five  o'clock,  or  may  be  six,  the 
brigades  come  along.     They  are  now  so  tired 

239 


The  End  of  the  Boat  Race 

they  can  hardly  get  up  a  cheer  as  they  pass  us 
and  push  on,  perhaps  five,  or  six,  or  ten  miles 
further,  when  they  camp  for  the  night.  They 
are  very  tired,  and  so  sleep  long  the  next  morn- 
ing. But  we  have  had  our  day  of  rest,  and  so 
feel  strong  again.  So  with  the  morning  star  still 
in  the  sky,  we  are  up  and  off,  and  we  get  on  so 
well  that  we  pass  the  other  brigades  perhaps 
when  they  are  just  having  their  breakfast.  With 
a  cheer,  we  push  ahead.  We  travel  some  weeks 
over  many  rough  places,  but  at  length  we  reach 
the  height  of  land,  or  whatever  post  we  are  trav- 
elling for  that  year.  We  find  the  brigades  from 
Athabasca,  or  Mackenzie,  or  Peace  Rivers,  there 
with  the  furs.  We  exchange  our  loads  of  goods 
for  packs  of  furs,  and  turn  around  and  begin  the 
homeward  journey.  Perhaps  we  get  down  five 
or  six  days  before  we  meet  the  other  brigades 
still  going  up. 

"We  push  on  day  after  day,  having  as  usual 
our  quiet  Sabbath  of  rest  and  worship,  and  we 
generally  arrived  home  about  a  week  or  ten  days 
before  the  other  brigades  returned.  When  they 
did  come  back,  they  generally  had  somcof  their 
men  about  used  up,  and  all  of  them  were  very  tired, 
while  we  who  kept  the  Sabbath  were  soon  ready 
to  start  off  for  York  Factory  to  meet  the  ship." 

This  was  their  uniform  testimony,  and  has 
been  for  years;  and  it  is  so  in  harmony  with  the 
experience  in  all  lands  where  the  test  has  been 
made,  that,  looked  at  from  the  lowest  stand- 
point, man  as  a  creature  of  toil  can  do  more  and 

240 


Persecution  Aroused 

belter  work  in  six  days,  by  resting  on  the  seventh, 
than  he  can  where  he  keeps  no  Sabbath. 

How  saddening  it  is  to  think  that,  for  standing 
up  for  God's  glory  and  even  for  what  was  for 
their  highest  good,  this  glorious  missionary 
should  have  been  so  persecuted.  Finding  that 
these  persecutions  could  not  drive  him  out  of  the 
country,  and  that  as  usual  Mr.  Evans  toiled  on 
and  attended  to  his  work,  the  governor  sent 
most  stringent  letters  to  England,  demanding  the 
withdrawal  of  the  brave,  courageous  missionary. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Evans  continued  to  toil 
on,  hoping  that  the  storm  would  blow  over,  and 
the  sunshine  of  prosperity  return.  He  had  been 
under  no  obligations  to  heed  the  trial  of  his  moral 
character,  devised  and  carried  through  by  such 
consummate  malignity  by  the  governor  of  the 
fur-trading  company,  so  he  ignored  the  whole 
affair.  This  only  the  more  exasperated  his  ene- 
mies, and  so  elaborate  copies  of  the  trial  and  other 
letters  were  prepared,  and  sent  to  England.  Some 
were  sent  to  the  head  officers  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  in  London,  whose  selfish  fears  were  ex- 
cited by  the  garbled  statements  sent  them  of  the 
terrible  doings  of  the  missionary,  in  inciting  the 
Indians  to  rebellion  against  the  rules  of  the  com- 
pany. Others  were  sent  to  the  mission  rooms, 
to  the  secretaries;  and  these  painted  in  lurid  col- 
ours the  immoralities  of  this  man,  who  was  such 
a  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing,  and  must  be  recalled. 
Thus  the  storm  was  brewing,  and  the  clouds  instead 
of  dispersing,  were  gathering  in  densest  darkness, 
?4X 


XVIII 

TRAGEDY  AND   REVENGE 

Mr.  Evans'  unremitting  missionary  work — "  In  perils  oft  " — 
The  tin  canoe — "  Tiie  Island  of  Light " — The  trip  to  Fort 
Chippewayan — Thomas  Hassel,  the  Interpreter — John  Oig — 
The  terrible  accident — Hassel  shot — Buried  in  the  wilderness 
— Mr.  Evans'  grief — Hassel's  people — Pagans — "  Avengers  of 
blood  " — Evans  surrenders  himself  to  Hassel's  people — Not 
murdered  but  adopted. 

Still  unaware  of  the  tightening  coils  that  were 
gathering  around  him,  Mr.  Evans  laboured  on  in 
his  blessed  work.  In  the  home-work  his  interest 
was  unabated.  Here  he  had  gathered  about  him 
a  large  number  of  happy  converts  from  a  debas- 
ing paganism.  Many  of  them  were  now  begin- 
ning to  preach  to  others,  and  were  thus  more 
rapidly  extending  the  work. 

At  his  own  fireside,  he  was  the  loving  and 
loyal  husband,  and  the  most  affectionate  of 
fathers.  No  one  prized  his  home  more  than  did 
he;  and  yet,  so  great  was  his  love  for  his  Master, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  for  the  precious  souls 
for  whom  his  Saviour  died,  that  he  was  willing 
to  tear  himself  away,  and  in  storm,  blizzard  and 
hurricane,  go  out  over  an  area  of  country  larger 
than  many  an  empire.  No  roof  had  he  above 
him  for  many  days  and  weeks.  He  cheerfully 
exposed  himself  to  "perils  oft"  in  many  forms, 
that  he  might  fill  up  his  life  with  usefulness,  by 
243 


Tragedy  and  Revenge 

winning  as  many  as  possible  to  the  service  of  his 
Lord. 

To  far-away  Athabasca,  and  even  to  Fort  Simp- 
son, Lesser  Slave  Lake,  and  other  remote  places 
he  had  gone,  and  in  all  of  them  he  was  intensely 
interested.  As  far  as  possible  he  visited  them  by 
summer  in  his  canoe,  and  with  his  dog-trains  in 
winter. 

So  ingenious  was  he  that  he  manufactured  a 
tin  canoe  himself.  It  was  a  great  success,  and  in 
it  he  travelled  many  thousands  of  miles.  The 
Indians,  as  they  saw  it  flashing  in  the  distance  as 
the  sun's  bright  rays  were  reflected  from  it  as 
from  a  mirror,  called  it:  "  The  Island  of  Light." 

He  carried  with  him  on  account  of  the  dangers 
arising  from  hidden  rocks,  a  soldering  iron  and 
some  solder;  so  that  when  he  was  so  unfortu- 
nate as  to  strike  a  sharp  rock  and  thus  cause  his 
canoe  to  leak,  he  could  quickly  go  ashore  and  re- 
pair the  damage. 

Still  in  happy  ignorance  of  the  coming  storm 
he  made  preparations  for  a  journey  by  canoe  to 
Fort  Chippewayan  on  the  Athabasca,  where  a 
good  work  had  been  accomplished  among  the 
Indians  of  the  region.  His  chief  object  in  going 
on  this  last  trip  was  to  be  with  those  Christian 
Indians  whom  he  had  the  joy  of  winning  from 
paganism,  and  saving  them  from  the  false  teach- 
ings of  some  whom  he  heard  were  pushing  up 
from  the  Saskatchewan  country  into  the  regions 
which  formed  the  home  of  his  Athabasca  flock. 

With  this  purpose  in  view,  Mr.  Evans  started 

213 


Trip  to  Fort  Chippewayan 

immedialely  upon  receiving  the  information,  go- 
ing by  the  quicker  but  much  more  dangerous 
route  of  Nelson  River,  Churchill  River,  Lake 
Wollaston  and  thence  through  Lake  Athabasca 
to  Fort  Chippewayan. 

He  took  with  him  as  canoemen,  his  inter- 
preter, Thomas  Hassel,  and  John  Oig.  Thomas 
Hassel  belonged  to  the  Chippewayan  tribe.  He 
had,  for  an  Indian,  been  a  great  traveller.  He 
had  a  marvellously  retentive  memory,  and  the 
gift  of  easily  acquiring  foreign  languages.  He 
was  able  to  speak  fluently  in  English,  French, 
Cree,  Saulteaux,  and  had  a  partial  knowledge  of 
several  other  tongues.  Best  of  all  he  was  a  godly 
man,  a  genuine  Christian  and  full  of  anxious  zeal 
for  the  extension  of  the  cause  of  Christ  among 
his  fellow-countrymen.  At  Fort  Chippewayan,  a 
small  but  very  interesting  work  had  been  begun. 
There  some  of  the  natives  had  accepted  of  Chris- 
tianity, but  the  great  mass  of  the  tribe  was  still 
in  the  darkness  of  heathenism.  The  family  of 
Hassel  were  all  stubborn,  superstitious  pagans, 
retaining  all  their  old  habits  and  customs.  Oig, 
the  other  man  in  the  canoe  was  also  an  exper- 
ienced traveller,  and  had  often  been  employed  by 
Mr.  Evans  on  account  of  his  endurance  and  skill. 
He  lived  to  be  a  very  old  man,  and  to  the  end  of 
his  days  was  full  of  reminiscences  of  the  one  he 
loved  to  call,  "  Nistum  Ayumeaookemow,"  (the 
first  missionary). 

When  Mr.  Evans  applied  at  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Post  for  supplies  of  food  and  ammunition  to 
241 


Tragedy  and  Revenge 

equip  him  for  his  long  journey,  he  was  bluntly 
refused  by  orders  of  the  governor.  However, 
friends  among  the  Indians  provided  everything 
necessary;  and  so  bidding  the  loved  ones  in  his 
happy  home  "Good-bye,"  and  with  cheery 
parting  words  to  his  helpers  and  Indian  friends, 
the  long  journey  was  begun. 

For  some  days  they  pushed  on  with  the  great- 
est rapidity,  for  Mr.  Evans  was  resolved  to  make 
this  trip  in  spite  of  the  many  difficulties  in  the 
way,  one  of  the  quickest  of  his  life.  He  felt  it 
his  duty  not  only  to  try  and  win  precious  souls 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as 
their  only  Advocate  and  Saviour,  but  also  to 
strive  to  guard  them  against  the  false  teachings 
and  erroneous  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
Hence  his  anxiety  to  make  rapid  progress  and  be 
first  in  the  field,  even  if  those  who  were  striving 
to  invade  his  fold  had  started  a  number  of  days 
ahead  and  over  a  better  route  ere  he  had  heard  of 
their  movements. 

Awfully  sad  and  abrupt  was  the  end  of  the 
journey.  From  Oig  long  years  after  I  heard  the 
story;  so  sad,  so  tragic,  so  dreadful.  His  words 
as  I  remember  them  were: 

"We  had  pushed  on  for  a  number  of  days, 
and  Mr.  Evans  said  he  was  so  much  pleased  with 
our  progress.  We  had  run  many  rapids  and 
made  a  large  number  of  portages.  We  were 
well  and  strong  as  there  was  plenty  of  game  for 
us  to  shoot.  So  we  did  not  waste  an  hour,  but 
kept  rapidly  pushing  forward. 

245 


Hassel  Shot 

"We  had  risen  one  morning  very  early  and 
after  our  breakfast  and  prayers  had  launched  our 
canoe  and  were  rapidly  hurrying  away.  The 
morning  mists  hung  low  on  the  shores  of  a  great 
lake-like  river  on  the  waters  of  which  we  were 
paddling.  Thomas  Hassel  was  in  the  front  of 
the  canoe.  Mr.  Evans  was  in  the  centre,  and  I 
was  in  the  stern. 

"All  at  once  Hassel  whispered,  'I  see  ducks. 
Hand  me  the  gun.'  We  generally  kept  the  gun 
in  the  stern  of  the  canoe  pointing  backward  for 
safety." 

Continuing  Oig  said:  "I  reached  back  and 
lifting  the  gun  I  turned  the  muzzle  around  and 
quietly  pulled  back  the  hammer,  as  it  was  a  flint- 
lock gun.  I  then  reached  it  forward  and  handed 
it  to  Mr.  Evans.  Mr.  Evans  did  not  look  back. 
He  only  reached  back  his  hand  for  the  gun  as  he 
was  earnestly  looking  forward  to  try  and  see  the 
ducks  which  could  not  be  plainly  seen  on  account 
of  the  mist. 

"Somehow  or  other,  I  can  hardly  tell  how,  the 
gun  went  off  just  as  Mr.  Evans  took  it  out  of  my 
hands.  And  as  it  was  pointed  directly  toward 
Hassel  in  front,  the  whole  charge  went  into  his 
head  just  at  the  base  of  his  skull. 

"  Poor  Hassel!  he  just  turned  and  gave  one  sad 
look  at  the  missionary  and  then  fell  over  dead.  It 
was  an  awful  time.  Mr.  Evans  was  wild  with 
grief,  and  so  was  I. 

"  We  wept  and  mourned  like  little  children. 
We  were    dazed    and    bewildered.     There  we 

246 


Tragedy  and  Revenge 

were  in  the  wilderness,  far  away  on  that  lonely 
lake-like  river  with  no  Indians  or  white  people 
within  many,  many  miles  of  us. 

"But  we  had  to  do  something,  and  so  we 
went  ashore,  and  wept  again  as  we  took  out  our 
dead  friend  and  laid  him  on  the  sand.  For  a 
time  we  sat  in  silence  beside  him.  Then  we 
tried  to  pray,  but  at  first  we  could  only  sob. 
But  the  Great  Spirit  heard  our  prayer  and  we 
were  quieted  and  comforted  even  in  our  tears, 
and  brought  back  to  ourselves,  so  that  we  could 
think  what  to  do.  We  could  not  take  the  body 
back  to  our  mission,  nor  forward  to  the  far-away 
land  of  his  people;  for  they  dwelt  far  beyond 
Lake  Athabasca.  So  we  decided  to  bury  our 
dead  on  the  river-bank.  We  dug  a  grave  as  well 
as  we  could  and  there  tenderly  laid  him  away, 
and  then  with  sad  lonely  hearts  we  started  back 
for  our  homes. 

"O!  but  it  was  a  sad  home-coming.  Our 
eyes  were  so  dim  with  weeping  we  could  hardly 
see  the  trail.  We  were  so  dazed  along  the  whole 
route  that  we  were  like  those  who  dream. 

"When  at  length  we  reached  our  village  the 
people  came  out  to  meet  us,  wondering  why  we 
had  so  soon  returned,  and  that  there  were  only 
two  of  us,  where  there  had  been  three  when  the 
journey  began.  They  wondered  more  when  they 
saw  our  sad  faces,  and  observed  that  our  tongues 
at  first  refused  to  speak.  When  at  length  the 
sad  story  was  told  them  their  hearts  were  filled 
with  sorrow,  and  indeed  it  was  a  double  sorrow. 

247 


Surrendering  Himself 

Sorrow  at  the  sad  death  of  such  a  useful  well- 
beloved  man  as  Hassel;  and  deeper  sorrow  as 
they  saw  how  prostrated  with  grief  was  the 
loved  missionary,  who  had  been  so  unfortunate 
as  to  have  caused  the  sad  accident." 

This  is  the  substance  of  the  account  Oig  gave 
me  long  years  afterward.  Even  then,  strong  In- 
dian though  he  was,  the  recital  of  the  sad  trag- 
edy deeply  affected  him  and  those  of  his  family 
who  heard  it,  as  he  related  it  at  my  request. 

The  effect  on  Mr.  Evans  himself  was  terrible. 
He  never  seemed  able  to  rise  above  it.  He  was 
never  again  just  the  same  man.  His  appearance 
was  that  of  one  who  had  suddenly  grown  old. 
The  sprightliness  and  vivacity  of  the  man,  which 
had,  with  divine  grace,  made  him  one  of  the 
most  joyous  and  companionable  of  men,  had 
gone  forever.  The  awful  tragedy  seemed  ever 
before  him.  His  heart  was  full  of  sorrow,  and 
his  eyes  were  often  dimmed  with  tears. 

Sometime  after  his  return  home,  he  prepared 
to  surrender  himself  to  the  tribe  to  which  the 
dead  man  belonged.  They  were,  as  has  been 
stated,  Chippewayans;  and  were  as  a  tribe, 
nearly  all  pagans.  In  fact  the  only  company  of 
them  who  had  accepted  Christianity  was  con- 
nected with  the  flourishing  little  mission  Mr. 
Evans  himself  had  established,  and  which  he  was 
on  the  way  to  visit  when  the  death  of  Hassel  oc- 
curred. The  family  and  relatives  of  Hassel  were 
all  pagans,  retaining,  as  we  have  said,  all  their 
old  superstitions  and  cruel  customs. 

248 


Tragedy  and  Revenge 

As  a  tribe  they  held  some  of  the  old  severe  be- 
liefs in  reference  to  blood-feuds  and  quarrels. 
Blood  for  blood,  and  life  for  life,  was  a  part  of 
their  belief,  as  the  following  sanguinary  tribal 
quarrel  will  show. 

At  a  great  tribal  gathering,  a  young  warrior,  in 
mere  mischief,  drew  his  arrow  to  the  head,  and 
sent  it  whizzing  through  the  body  of  a  white 
dog  much  prized  by  his  master.  That  master 
instantly  sent  an  arrow  into  the  body  of  the 
slayer  of  his  dog.  The  next-of-kin  to  the  man 
thus  slain  shot  his  murderer,  and  then  the  next- 
of-kin  on  the  other  side  retaliated.  This  went 
on  until  about  a  hundred  dead  bodies  lay  around 
the  encampment.  Old  chiefs  and  medicine-men 
interfered  and  managed  to  stop  the  strife,  which 
had  assumed  such  proportions  that  it  threatened 
to  annihilate  them.  The  trouble  was  only  ended 
by  the  banishment  from  the  tribe  of  all  the  rela- 
tives of  the  man  who  had  shot  the  dog.  They 
were  driven  out  with  orders  never  to  return,  and 
wandered  about  for  several  weeks  ere  they  found 
a  section  of  the  country  in  which  they  could 
dwell. 

To  this  people  Mr.  Evans  resolved  to  give  him- 
self up,  to  be  treated  by  them  in  any  way  they 
pleased.  Life's  joys  seemed  to  have  left  him, 
and  he  seemed  not  to  care  whether  he  lived  or 
died. 

Settling  up  all  of  his  affairs  at  home,  and  turn- 
ing over  the  mission  and  school  with  the  printing 
house  and  all  of  its  work  to  men  whom  he  had 
249 


With  the  "Avengers  of  Blood" 

trained,  and  were  now  able  to  carry  out  his  plans, 
he  prepared  for  his  departure.  He  kissed  his 
beloved  wife  and  daughter,  and  saying  "fare- 
well "  to  all,  he  left  his  weeping  family  and  sor- 
rowing people  for  the  far-away  distant  country 
where  were  the  wigwams  of  the  relatives  of 
Hassel.  It  was  a  long,  lonesome  journey;  for  he 
would  not  allow  any  of  his  people  to  accompany 
him. 

When  he  reached  the  village  he  inquired  for 
the  wigwam  of  the  family  of  the  dead  man. 
This  being  pointed  out  to  him  he  at  once  entered 
it,  and  sitting  down  on  the  ground  he  covered 
his  face  with  his  hands  and  burst  out  into  a 
paroxysm  of  weeping.  The  inmates  were  all 
astonished  and  perplexed  at  this.  The  news  of 
Hassel's  death  had  not  yet  reached  them,  and  so 
the  sight  of  a  strong  white  man  sitting  in  their 
wigwam,  and  weeping  like  a  woman,  was  in- 
deed a  mystery. 

When  the  wild  burst  of  sorrow  was  over,  and 
Mr.  Evans  was  able  to  control  himself,  he  told 
the  sad  story  of  the  death  of  their  relative,  and 
the  part  he  had  played  in  it. 

Of  course  there  was  intense  excitement.  They 
had  not  been  very  friendly  toward  Hassel,  when 
he  had,  as  they  expressed  it,  "left  the  religion  of 
his  forefathers."  They  had  however  been  eager 
to  appropriate  the  large  portion  of  his  wages, 
which  he  had  as  often  as  possible  sent  to  them. 
Now  that  he  was  dead,  perhaps  the  fact  of  their 
loss,  as  well  as  their  old  pagan  instincts,  caused 

250 


Tragedy  and  Revenge 

them  to  demand  vengeance  upon  the  one  who 
had  taken  his  Ufe.  Tomahawks  were  drawn 
and  knives  were  unsheathed,  and  there  was  a 
cry  for  the  satisfaction  of  blood.  Strong  words 
were  uttered,  and  threatening  were  some  of  the 
actions  of  some  of  the  young,  hot-blooded  ones 
among  them. 

Amidst  the  sharp  controversy  that  raged  around 
him  as  to  what  should  be  done,  the  broken 
hearted  missionary  sat  with  bowed  head  and 
covered  face.  He  was  utterly  indifferent  as  to 
their  actions.  He  cared  not  what  should  become 
of  him. 

Noble  womanhood,  even  if  it  was  in  the  per- 
son of  a  poor  old  Indian  mother,  decided  the 
question  by  turning  the  tide  in  his  favour,  and 
his  life  was  preserved.  Hassel's  poor  old  mother 
was  much  shocked  when  she  heard  the  story  of 
her  son's  death.  She  had  bowed  down  in  her 
grief  at  her  loss,  but  had  listened  attentively  to 
all  that  had  been  said.  She  had  also  heard  the 
mutterings  of  vengeance  on  the  part  of  her  sons 
and  others,  and  had  observed  the  actions  of 
those  who  would  not  have  required  much  provo- 
cation to  have  quickly  put  the  stranger  to  death. 
She  had  also,  however,  observed  the  deep  sor- 
row of  the  man  who  had  accidentally  taken  the 
life  of  her  son.  With  quick  intuition  she  had  ob- 
served the  genuineness  of  his  grief,  and  her 
womanly  heart  was  moved  in  sympathy  toward 
him,  who  in  his  grief,  had  thus  voluntarily  put 
himself  in  their  power. 

251 


A  Good  Son 

While  the  story  had  been  told,  and  the  discus- 
sion had  gone  on  as  to  the  penalty  to  be  inflicted, 
these  had  been  her  feelings  and  emotions.  When 
it  seemed  as  though  the  avengers  of  blood  would 
prevail,  and  Mr.  Evans  would  be  killed,  she 
sprang  up  from  her  place  in  her  wigwam,  and 
going  over  to  him,  she  put  both  her  hands  upon 
his  head  and  said: 

"  He  shall  not  die.  There  was  no  evil  in  his 
heart.  He  loved  my  son.  He  shall  live,  and 
shall  be  my  son  in  the  place  of  the  one  who  is 
not  among  the  living." 

There  were  some  murmurings  even  against 
this,  but  the  mother  strongly  pleaded,  and  her 
plan  ultimately  carried  out. 

When  the  days  of  mourning  for  the  dead  were 
ended,  Mr.  Evans  was  adopted  into  the  tribe  and 
family.  For  a  time  he  remained  in  the  wigwam 
of  his  new  father  and  mother.  He  won  their 
love  and  admiration  by  his  words  and  kindly 
deeds.  He  talked  to  them  of  God  as  revealed  in 
Jesus  Christ,  and  of  the  blessed  land  beyond  this, 
into  which  so  tragically,  as  regards  the  earthly 
side  of  it,  their  son  had  entered. 

When  the  time  came  that  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  tribe  he  could  leave  to  go  out  into 
the  active  world  again,  he  kissed  them  both,  and 
returned  to  his  far-away  family  and  work.  He 
was  ever  a  good  son  to  his  new  parents.  As 
Hassel  had,  since  he  had  been  a  Christian,  been 
very  thoughtful  of  them,  and  had  sent  them 
many  a  present  for  their  comfort,  so  also,  and 

862 


Mr.  Evans  and  the  Avengers  of  Blood. 


Tragedy  and  Revenge 

much  more  so,  did  James  Evans.  As  long  as  he 
lived,  they  had  their  portion  of  his  never  very 
large  salary. 

Mrs.  Evans  and  her  daughter  shared  with  Mr. 
Evans  in  the  resolve  to  live  v^ith  the  closest 
economy,  in  order  to  help  that  aged  Indian  foster- 
father  and  mother,  who  now  had  a  claim  upon 
him. 

Memory  takes  me  back  to  the  time  when,  as  a 
little  boy  in  my  father's  parsonage,  I  sat  at  the 
feet  of  the  widow  of  James  Evans,  and  listened 
with  intensest  interest  as  she  talked  of  these 
thrilling  and  fascinating  matters.  Little  dreamed 
I  then  that  I  should  ever  live  in  that  distant  land, 
and  have  the  joy  of  having  in  my  Indian  Churches, 
many  brought  to  God  through  her  husband's  in- 
strumentality, and  among  them  John  Oig,  then 
the  sole  survivor,  and  with  Mr.  Evans  the  only 
witness,  of  the  tragic  death  of  the  interpreter, 
Thomas  Hassel. 


853 


XIX 

VINDICATION   AND   DEATH 

Lying  Letters — Work  continued  at  Rossville — Leaving  for 
England — via  Canada — In  England — Cold  reception — The  trial 
— Vindicated — Friends  rally  round  him — Lecturing — Demand 
for  Mr.  Evans — The  meeting  at  Waltham  Chapel,  Hull — At 
Keilby — The  sudden  death  of  the  Apostle  of  the  North. 

The  course  pursued  by  Mr.  Evans'  arch-enemy, 
Sir  George  Simpson,  was  worthy  of  his  vile 
reputation.  His  letters  to  the  officials  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  London,  were  of  such 
a  character  that  these  gentlemen  at  once  clam- 
oured for  the  recall  of  Mr.  Evans  from  the  country 
by  the  missionary  secretaries  to  whom  he  was 
responsible.  Truly  the  devil  has  had  some  cun- 
ning agents  in  this  world  to  do  his  horrid  work! 

Fortunately,  or  unfortunately,  for  Mr.  Evans 
there  were  but  two  mails  a  year;  and  so  months 
elapsed  ere  he  was  aware  that  such  lying  charges 
had  been  preferred  against  him  to  the  chief  offi- 
cials of  his  church,  and  that  he  was  soon  to 
answer  before  his  brethren,  and  there  defend  his 
character,  which  was  dearer  to  him  than  his  life. 

With  broken  heart  Mr.  Evans  continued  his  work 
at  Rossville,  until  there  fell  upon  him  the  stroke 
that  showed  the  vindictiveness  of  the  character 
of  the  man  who  was  resolved  to  drive  him  out 
of  the  country.      Imperative  orders  arrived  from 

254 


The  Farewell  Parting  with  the   Indians. 


Vindication  and  Death 

England, that  he  should  at  once  leave  the  mis- 
sionary work  in  the  hands  of  his  colleagues,  and 
come  across  the  ocean  to  answer  the  grave  charges. 
From  the  tenor  of  the  letters  it  seemed  evident 
that  the  officials  of  the  church  were  already  much 
biased  against  him,  and  that  he  would  have  a 
difficult  task  in  disabusing  their  minds  of  the 
prejudices  with  which  the  slanders  of  his  en- 
emies had  filled  them. 

With  inexpressible  grief  he  broke  up  his  home, 
and,  what  was  sadder  still,  relinquished  the  work 
so  near  his  heart,  and  then  bade  farewell  to  his 
weeping  Indian  converts,  and  with  his  wife  and 
daughter  returned  to  Canada  by  the  long  and 
toilsome  canoe  route,  to  which  we  have  referred 
so  fully  and  so  frequently. 

Some  little  time  was  spent  in  Lower  Canada 
among  loving  and  sympathising  friends;  and  then 
he  and  Mrs.  Evans  crossed  the  great  ocean  for 
England,  to  meet  face  to  face  the  missionary 
secretaries  and  others  selected  to  hear  his  story 
and  his  defence. 

Not  very  cordial  was  his  reception.  We  re- 
gret to  have  to  record,  that  at  first  he  met  only 
with  coldness  and  neglect.  So  biased  were  even 
high  church  dignitaries  by  the  persistent  circula- 
tion of  the  lying  charges  against  him,  that  they, 
forgetting  his  marvellous  work,  were  deeply 
prejudiced  against  him. 

It  is  a  maxim  in  law,  to  consider  a  man  inno- 
cent until  he  is  proven  guilty.  This  ought  to 
have  been  uppermost  in  the  minds  at  least  of  his 

255 


Joy  of  Vindication 

brethren;  but,  for  a  time,  it  was  not  so.  Mr. 
Evans'  sturdy  English  nature  was  aroused  at  this. 
Some  of  his  truest  friends  had  been  grieved  at 
the  indifference  with  which  he  had  treated  the 
foul  charges  preferred  against  him.  Conscious 
that  they  were  only  the  emanations  of  his  en- 
emies, he  had  treated  them  with  almost  silent 
contempt.  Now,  however,  when  he  found  that 
even  those  from  whom  he  had  expected  sympa- 
thy and  support,  were  turning  against  him,  he  at 
once  demanded  the  fullest  investigation  that  could 
be  made. 

Friends  rallied  round  him,  and  saw  that  he  had 
fair  play.  Long  and  exhaustive  was  the  inves- 
tigation, but  it  ended  in  the  most  triumphant  vin- 
dication of  Mr.  Evans.  Every  opportunity  was 
offered  to  his  enemies  to  prove  their  charges. 
Every  one,  however,  most  signally  failed;  and 
not  only  that,  but  the  foul  conspiracy  to  blast  his 
character  and  injure  his  usefulness,  was  clearly 
exposed.  The  Jesuitical  methods  of  the  immoral 
governor  to  influence  different  classes  against  this 
godly  man,  were  fully  brought  to  light.  The 
mean  and  contemptible  attitude  assumed  by  one, 
who,  knowing  his  innocency,  had  become  a 
traitor  and  a  traducer,  was  also  made  clear. 

The  unearthing  and  publication  of  the  foul 
conspiracy,  and  the  story  of  what  Mr.  Evans  had 
so  long  suffered  from  such  implacable  enemies, 
evoked  a  great  wave  of  sympathy  for  the  inno- 
cent and  long-suffering  man.  Loving  letters 
poured  in  upon  him,  and  more  tangible  evidences 

856 


Vindication  and  Death 

of  sympathy  were  not  wanting.  Most  cordial  in- 
vitations to  speak  in  many  of  the  great  churches, 
and  especially  at  the  great  missionary  meetings, 
which  are  such  marked  events  in  many  parts  of 
the  country,  were  continually  being  received. 

He  was  wearied  and  exhausted,  and  in  great 
need  of  rest.  Only  his  iron  constitution,  and  the 
consciousness  of  his  rectitude  and  faith  in  God, 
had  upheld  him.  But  he  was  a  prematurely  old 
man.  Although  not  yet  fifty  years  of  age,  he 
had  crowded  into  the  last  twenty-five  years, 
work  enough  for  a  half  a  dozen  busy  lives.  His 
best  friends  would  have  held  him  back,  but  that 
was  impossible.  Work  he  must,  and  would,  as 
long  as  life  should  last. 

There  were  two  things  ever  before  him.  Very 
different  were  they,  and  yet  both  were  incentives 
to  keep  him  always  at  the  fullest  stress  of  toil. 
There  was  first  the  joy,  that  through  "abounding 
grace,'"'  he  had  triumphed  so  signally  against  the 
conspiracies,  which  had  been  so  cunningly  de- 
signed to  rob  him  of  his  Christian  character;  and 
that  he  was  once  more  in  the  sight  of  men,  as  he 
had  always  been  in  God's  sight,  innocent  of  the 
foul  charges.  This  made  him  ever  anxious  now 
to  meet  the  vast  multitudes,  and,  in  his  new  free- 
dom, lift  up  his  head  in  the  sight  of  heaven  and 
tell  the  thrilling  story  of  the  triumphs  of  the 
blessed  gospel. 

There  was  also  another  reason.  The  one  so 
sad,  that  was  ever  before  him.  His  many  friends 
seeing  his  haggard  looks  and  failing  health,  had 

257 


The  Recital  of  his  Life-work 

besought  him  lovingly  and  importunately,  to 
spare  himself  for  future  days  or  years  of  useful- 
ness. Very  pathetic  was  his  answer  to  them: 
"If  I  cease  from  active  labours,  and  have  an  idle 
hour,  there  comes  up  before  me  the  picture  of 
the  dying  interpreter.  I  cannot  be  idle.  I  must 
be  busy.     1  dare  not  stop." 

And  so  he  responded  to  the  many  calls  that 
poured  in  upon  him;  and,  the  more  he  talked  in 
his  own  inimitable  way,  the  more  the  people 
were  interested  and  charmed  and  thrilled,  and 
the  more  they  demanded  of  him. 

His  story  was  so  new,  unique  and  fascinating, 
that  they  could  not  help  but  be  interested  in  it 
especially  when  told  by  such  a  man.  Other  mis- 
sionaries had  charmed  them  about  the  stories  of 
gospel  triumphs  in  other  lands;  but  here  was 
something  from  mission  fields,  about  which  but 
little  had  ever  been  heard.  Mr.  Evans  was  from 
the  land  of  Eliot  and  Brainard,  the  missionaries 
to  the  red  men;  and  to  English  audiences  there  is 
a  glamour  of  romance  about  everything  in  con- 
nection with  the  North  American  Indians. 

Then  it  was  all  so  romantic,  as  it  was  from  the 
far  North  Land,  where  auroras  flash  and  blaze, 
and  the  mirage  and  mock  suns  are  often  seen. 
Everything  that  Mr.  Evans  had  to  say  was  a 
revelation.  The  travelling  by  dogs,  the  sleeping 
in  the  wintry  camp  with  the  mercury  frozen,  car- 
rying frozen  milk  that  was  months  old,  and 
chopping  it  with  an  axe,  all  these  things  produced 
a  profound  impression. 

258 


Vindication  and  Death 

The  story  of  his  difficulties  and  triumphs,  in  the 
invention  of  the  Syllabic  Characters,  and  the 
teaching  of  a  people  to  read  the  Word  of  God  so 
easily,  and  the  wondrous  transformation  wrought 
by  the  gospel's  power,  all  these  things  simply 
electrified  the  people;  and  so  it  came  to  pass  that, 
no  matter  how  honoured  were  the  ministers  as- 
sociated with  him,  on  the  platform  as  speakers, 
the  people  almost  entirely  refused  to  hear  any- 
body else. 

He  should  have  stopped;  but  he  could  not. 
His  health  once  so  robust,  was  worse  than  he 
dare  let  himself  admit.  His  heart  had  long  re- 
minded him  by  its  tumultuous  throbbings,  when 
on  the  snowshoe  trail,  or  when  labouriously  pad- 
dling his  canoe  in  some  dangerous  place,  that  all 
was  not  right.  Then  his  sorrows  had  come  to 
aggravate  its  troubles,  and  now  here  he  was 
speaking  to  thousands  every  night,  often  until 
nearly  midnight.  When  we  think  of  it,  it  does 
not  now  seem  strange  that  the  end  should  have 
come  as  suddenlyas  it  did. 

On  Monday  evening,  the  226.  of  November, 
1846,  Mr.  Evans  attended  a  missionary  meeting 
in  Waltham  Street  Chapel,  Hull,  England.  Our 
readers  will  remember  that  Hull  was  his  native 
town.  The  chapel  was  packed  to  suffocation. 
Two  of  the  greatest  orators  of  the  church  were 
also  announced  to  speak  that  evening.  Mr.  Evans 
was  called  on  as  the  first  speaker.  So  charmed 
and  thrilled  was  the  vast  audience  with  his  story, 
and  with  the  magnetism  and  eloquence  of   the 

259 


His  Last  Address 

man,  that  they  would  hear  nobody  else.  Neither 
the  influence  of  the  chairman  nor  the  reputations 
of  the  other  great  speakers,  could  prevail.  Mr. 
Evans  must  go  on;  so  said  that  vast  assemblage. 
The  whole  evening  must  be  his.  The  pleading 
that  he  was  far  from  well  availed  not,  and  so  he 
talked  on  for  hours. 

The  writer  has  conversed  with  old  men 
who  were  present  at  that  wonderful  meeting. 
They  will  never  forget  that  night,  and  that  ad- 
dress. Mr.  Evans  spoke  until  long  after  eleven 
o'clock.  The  interest  and  enthusiasm  continued 
to  the  last;  and,  late  as  it  was,  when  he  closed, 
the  people  were  loath  to  leave  the  place  where 
they  had  heard  so  much  that  brought  glory  to 
God,  in  the  proclamation  of  His  Word. 

The  next  evening  Mr.  Evans  spoke  at  a  place 
called  Keilby,  in  Lincolnshire.  There  was  a 
similarly  crowded  sanctuary,  and  the  same  in- 
tense enthusiasm;  and  again  Mr.  Evans  had  to 
do  all  the  speaking. 

It  was  his  last  address.  At  the  close  of  it,  he 
and  Mrs.  Evans  returned  to  the  home  of  a  dear 
friend,  whose  guests  they  were.  The  usual 
English  supper  was  partaken  of,  and  then  the 
host  and  his  wife,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans,  en- 
gaged in  a  little  quiet  chat.  During  the  day  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Evans  had  been  talking  about  the  hope 
that  now  that  the  dark  clouds  had  so  flitted  away, 
and  his  character  had  been  so  grandly  vindicated, 
they  might  again  return  to  their  beloved  work 
among  the  Indians,  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territo- 

260 


Vindication  and  Death 

ries.  This  thought  was  again  uppermost  in  this, 
their  last  evening  talk.  At  the  prospect  of  again 
seeing  them,  and  once  more  working  among 
them  for  the  salvation  of  bands  not  yet  won  to 
Christ,  Mr.  Evans  seemed  to  have  regained  some 
of  his  old  time  sprightliness  and  pleasantry. 
This  matter  of  the  probable  return  to  the  Indian 
work  was  the  last  thing  about  which  he  con- 
versed. 

Mrs.  Evans  rose  to  retire  to  her  room.  As  she 
left  with  her  hostess  accompanying  her  to  the 
door,  she  turned  to  Mr,  Evans,  who  lingered  be- 
hind and  said: 

"  Well,  my  dear,  it  is  pleasant  to  think  of  go- 
ing back  to  those  dear  people;  but  1  have  had  a 
strange  presentiment  all  day  that  we  will  never 
see  Norway  House  again." 

He  looked  at  her  with  all  his  old  time  bright- 
ness, and  replied: 

"  Well,  my  dear,  heaven  is  just  as  near  from 
England  as  from  Norway  House." 

The  ladies  retired.  The  two  gentlemen  sat  for 
a  little  longer,  talking  about  various  things  when, 
all  at  once,  the  host  noticed  Mr.  Evans  leaning 
strangely  over  the  side  of  the  large  chair  in  which 
he  was  sitting. 

On  speaking  to  him,  he  received  no  answer. 
He  at  once  sprang  to  his  aid,  but  he  was  already 
beyond  all  human  assistance.  The  heroic  mis- 
sionary, the  Apostle  of  the  North,  had  passed 
over  into  the  Paradise  of  God. 

Thursday,  November  25th,   1846,  all  that  was 

261 


Final  Resting-Place 

mortal  of  James  Evans  was  carried  back  to  Hull, 
and  laid  away  in  the  minister's  vault  in  the  Walt- 
ham  Street  Chapel,  the  same  chapel  in  which  he 
had  spoken  with  such  marvellous  power  the 
previous  Monday  evening. 


THE  END. 


262 


Theological  Sem.nary-Speer  l-i'>"'» 


012  01043  6279 


